AN Archives: Martha Sawyers
Martha Sawyers was a truly remarkable individual. Growing up in Texas, she developed an interest in the cultures of Asia, then pursued it by studying art at The Art Students League before embarking on daring travels to South Pacific and Asian countries with her husband. While living through Japan’s invasion of China during their stay there from 1937 to 1942, Sawyer captured moments filled with vibrant life that revealed powerful truths about Chinese people — ones that ignored pre-war stereotypes or misconceptions from other Western artists. Her work is credited as part of America’s great illustration lineage that includes Winslow Homer and Norman Rockwell, and it earned her a feature in the April 1944 issue of American Artist Magazine. Here are three takeaways from this great illustrator!
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Career. She never planned on being an illustrator. She was showing her paintings in a gallery after returning from her travels when her work caught the attention of an art editor from Collier’s, who was in need of an illustrator of her caliber and expertise.
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Influences. She had a deep and genuine interest in understanding cultures, and was willing to be “pigeonholed by art editors as an illustrator of Asiatic lore.” As a child, she was captivated by a book entitled Religion of the Far East, not for its exploration of religion per se, but for the cultures it illuminated.
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Process. Her preliminary pencil sketches were completed free-hand on the canvas with small sable brushes. Afterward, she used thin oil washes to create an effect similar to watercolor. She would then often layer impasto painting for deeper dimension in their work. Much of the canvas would be covered with thin oil washes, applied with relatively small brushes, then scrapped with a palette knife.
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