 Arturo
V. Martínez y Salazar was born February 1, 1911, in Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico.
As a child he became interested in design and carving on wood. After graduating
from St. Michael's High School in Santa Fe, he moved to Taos, New Mexico, where
he began to design and make Spanish colonial furniture. In the late 1930s, he
attended and taught woodworking classes under the Works Progress Administration,
Federal Art Project (FAP) in Española, New Mexico. Martínez y Salazar also
constructed and remodeled houses in the Taos area, designing homes for members
of his own family as well as for the Wurlitzers.
During World War II, Martínez y Salazar went with his family to Los Angeles,
where he was employed as a draftsman for Douglas Aircraft. After the war, he returned
to Taos and continued his career as an architect and a builder where his adherence
to traditional adobe architecture became his trademark. Each of his designs included
soft angular walls, patios (courtyards), molded corner fireplaces, and traditional
handmade wood elements. For almost forty years, Martínez y Salazar created
Taos area buildings that celebrated his cultural traditions. |
