Martin Saldana

Modernist Brightly Colored Oil Painting of a Bird and Flowers, Teal, Purple

circa 1950-1955

Born in 1874, Saldaña grew up at Rancho Neuvo in Mexico. In 1950, at the age of 76, he began attending children's art classes at the Denver Art Museum. For the next fitfteen years, Saldaña Imaginatively documented whimsical memories from his childhood in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, portraying ranch life, landscapes, and his great love of animals. The prolific artist painted every day, completing a new piece about every three days and amassing an impressive body of work for the former cook at the Denver landmark, the Brown Palace Hotel. Saldaña’s vibrant palette and geometric figures are reminiscent of the tapestries of his Mexican heritage and the paintings, primarily in oil, are innocent and endearing. Saldaña is considered to be a outsider artist, a folk artist who is self-taught, whose work is simple, direct, and high personal. Works Held: Denver Art Museum, University of Wyoming Art Museum, The Colorado Springs Fine Art Center, International Folk Art Museum, Neuss In Aberthor Museum, Stedelijk Museum ©David Cook Galleries, LLC