Martnez Frank

American artist who painted murals of his Mexican American heritage. In 1976, the Smithsonian Institution commissioned him and four other California artists to paint a mural for the United States Bicentennial celebration. He traveled to Washington, D.C., to complete his part, which depicted the early pueblo years of Los Angeles. He would go on to create large-scale murals for the 1984 Summer Olympics and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. One of his last works hangs in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. It is a layered mural of early 18th century life, mission-building and Catholic faith in California. Martínez married Esther Silva and they had a daughter and four sons. Late in life, Martínez was diagnosed with diabetes and Parkinsons disease. However, he did not let either disrupt his work. He developed ways to use the Parkinsons to his advantage by drawing sketches directly on the canvas, rather than in a book. On 17 August 2013, Martínez, aged 89, died at Northridge Hospital Medical Center in Los Angeles of complications from diabetes and renal disease. Link to Wikipedia biography Read less