AdrianMartinez is a nationally known artist based in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. His work, which includes portraits, still lifes, landscapes and historical paintings, combines a classical technique with an intensely emotional vision. His art has been shown in galleries across the United States and is in many public collections. In January of 2003 he completed a 10 x 18 foot three-panel mural which was commissioned for the White House by United States President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. In 2001 the President and Mrs. Bush chose him to design the White House Christmas card .
Adrian was born in Philadelphia on September 12, 1949. When he was five, his family moved to Washington D.C. where he completed his early schooling. Adrian grew up in poverty and found refuge in the museums of the Smithsonian Institute. There he was safe, and free to develop his growing love of art and history. After high school, he made the decision to study painting at the Maryland Institute of Art in Baltimore, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He was then accepted into St. Martins School of Art in London where he obtained a Certificate of Studies. This was not without some degree of difficulty due to his abrupt change from an advanced student of abstract art to a painfully tentative student of realism. His time spent traveling and studying art in Europe brought about a change that set in motion the growth of his full potential as an artist, while at the same time throwing him completely out of the mainstream and separating him from most of his contemporaries. He became committed to realistic painting in the Western European tradition. Struggling with this new style, he realized he was not finished with his education and pursued a Master of Arts degree in painting and printmaking from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Adrian was born in Philadelphia on September 12, 1949. When he was five, his family moved to Washington D.C. where he completed his early schooling. Adrian grew up in poverty and found refuge in the museums of the Smithsonian Institute. There he was safe, and free to develop his growing love of art and history. After high school, he made the decision to study painting at the Maryland Institute of Art in Baltimore, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He was then accepted into St. Martins School of Art in London where he obtained a Certificate of Studies. This was not without some degree of difficulty due to his abrupt change from an advanced student of abstract art to a painfully tentative student of realism. His time spent traveling and studying art in Europe brought about a change that set in motion the growth of his full potential as an artist, while at the same time throwing him completely out of the mainstream and separating him from most of his contemporaries. He became committed to realistic painting in the Western European tradition. Struggling with this new style, he realized he was not finished with his education and pursued a Master of Arts degree in painting and printmaking from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
After graduating from Purdue, Adrian taught art for a few years and eventually accepted a job as the exhibit designer for the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. Adrian designed installations for some of the greatest Renaissance, Impressionist and Asian art in the world. He met many of the leading art scholars of the day. In 1984 he left his job at the Kimbell and devoted himself to painting full time.
Shortly after beginning his career as an artist he met his wife, Leah, who was born and raised in Texas. They have a son, Sebastian, who is also a native Texan. However, in 1995 the Martinez family left Fort Worth and moved to Chester County, Pennsylvania. They currently live in a beautiful Victorian home that also houses Adrian’s studio.
Adrian currently has paintings with the Allan Stone Gallery in New York, Newman Galleries in Philadelphia, Somerville-Manning Gallery in Delaware and Ken Blasingame in Texas. He has given a number of lectures and demonstrations and taught art at West Chester University in Pennsylvania, Purdue University in Indiana, the Kimbell Art Museum and the Amon Carter Museum in Texas.
Shortly after beginning his career as an artist he met his wife, Leah, who was born and raised in Texas. They have a son, Sebastian, who is also a native Texan. However, in 1995 the Martinez family left Fort Worth and moved to Chester County, Pennsylvania. They currently live in a beautiful Victorian home that also houses Adrian’s studio.
Adrian currently has paintings with the Allan Stone Gallery in New York, Newman Galleries in Philadelphia, Somerville-Manning Gallery in Delaware and Ken Blasingame in Texas. He has given a number of lectures and demonstrations and taught art at West Chester University in Pennsylvania, Purdue University in Indiana, the Kimbell Art Museum and the Amon Carter Museum in Texas.
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