This collection consists of material collected by the Chicano artist Emanuel Martinez during his expansive career. As a muralist, painter, and sculptor, Martinez achieved international acclaim. His career exploded during the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and the 1970s, during which he worked with civil rights leaders Cesar Chavez, Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez, and Reies López Tijerina and helped to popularize the Chicano mural movement. Martinez has received numerous public art commissions in Colorado, Arizona, Texas, and other parts of the United States. He has also participated in major museum exhibitions and his work is part of the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American Art. The materials of this collection speak to his successful and lengthy artistic career, as well as the broader Chicano Movement in the U.S. After Martinez approached the Latino History Project at the University of Colorado Boulder about the collection in 2019, he agreed to loan the materials to the University. They are reproduced here with his permission.
The Art and Art History Visual Resources Center hosts this collection, and thanks to our employees and affiliates for their contribution toward its creation. These include Allyson Burbeck, for leading the research and cataloging process; Dzifah Danos and Taylor Hosford, for their assistance with digitizing and cataloging many items in the collection; and Rosane Volchan O’Conor, for creating item summaries and helping with digital capture.
The items in the collection are listed below by year. Click on an entry below to be taken to the detailed list for that date. Then click on an individual item to view its image and description in the AAHRVC collection.
1964-1976: 13 Items
1977-1980: 15 Items
1981: 17 Items
1982-1984: 14 Items
1985-1986: 20 Items
1987: 14 Items
1988-1989: 13 items
1990: 14 Items
1991: 18 Items
1992: 16 Items
1993: 19 Items
1994: 17 Items
1995: 19 Items
1996-1997A: 20 Items
1997B-1999: 14 Items
2000-2002: 15 Items
2003-2007: 16 Items
2008-2011: 9 Items
2012-2015: 13 Items