Collection: Martin Saldana (1874-1965)

Martin Saldaña (Martin Saldana) was born December 11, 1874, at the Rancho Neuvo which is forty miles north of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. His grandfather started Rancho Nuevo and as his sons married, he had them each build a house on the ranch so they would stay. He was one of nine children. He was the smallest in the family and was not expected to live. All his siblings were six feet tall. His father was a cattle dealer and rancher. At 8 he was taking care of the pigs on the ranch and at 10 he had his own horse named Pistol which he rode with his brothers to help herd cattle. At 15 he managed a large flower garden at the ranch which was one of his favorite pastimes. At 15 he sold wood to raise money to go to San Antonio to pick cotton which was a more lucritive job at the time. Once he saved 350.00 he went to Tampico Mexico where he got a job as a stoker on a ship shoveling coal. He had to stand in water all day which was bad on his legs. With the money he earned he and a few other men pooled their money and bought two mules so they could peddel dishes to woman in the mountains above the mining town of Pacuoco. It was there he saw the bodies of four men that had been killed by mountain lions. To be sure, he and his friends always made large fires at night to keep away the mountain lions. He did a stint as a cook on a fishing boat, where he nearly drowned when he fell between the boat and the pier. Captain Phillips Henry Gaspard saved him.
At 33 his mother passed away. She was french and was a great influence on Martin. He continued to try his hand at cooking in restaurants. He moved to Alabama, then tried an Italian restaurant in Kentucky, and a greek restaurant in Tennessee. In Tennessee the waitresses were blond and wore lovely silk white dressses. The image stuck in his head for his painting later on.
In 1912 he finally gets to Denver and works at Sister of Mercy Hospital as a cook. That only lasts a few years and in 1915 at the age of 41 he starts his long career at the Denver landmark, the Brown Palace. in 1950 we got a room nearby. It was then, at 76 he joined a childrens watercolor class at the Denver Art Museum and began his passion for painting. He ultimately started painting at the Emily Griffith School of Opportunity where he worked under the tutalege of Lester Bridaham. Bridaham loved Saldana’s whimsy and bought every painting he every painted. He became his patron, teacher, and his greatest promoter of his work. Bridham worked to get Saldana’s works in galleries and museums around the world. In 1953 Life Magazine wrote an article titled “An Old Cook’s New Art” about Saldaña and his art practice.
Saldana only painted for fifteen years, working entirely by memory and imagination. His work is of whimsical memories from his childhood in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, portraying ranch life, landscapes, his great love of animals and especially his wonderful flower garden. Saldana painted every day, completing a new piece about every three days and although he painted for a short amount of time, he amassed an impressive body of work.
Saldaña’s vibrant palette and geometric figures are reminiscent of the tapestries of his Mexican heritage and the paintings, primarily in oil, are endearing.
Saldaña died September 5, 1695 at the age of 91.

Works Held: Denver Art Museum, University of Wyoming Art Museum, The Colorado Springs Fine Art Center, International Folk Art Museum, Neuss in Aberthaw Museum (London), Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam)

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