Fletcher Martin (1904-1979)
He was born in 1904 in Palisade, Colorado, a small western town where his father ran the local newspaper. Martin grew up in a family that moved to towns throughout the West. He showed an early interest in art, primarily from circus posters and amateur painters.
At age 12, he began working as a printer and only later did he start to paint. He was known mostly for his painting of western subjects but has also worked as a muralist and illustrator. His artist's skills were largely self-taught. During his career he taught art at the University of Florida, State University of Iowa, the University of Minnesota, San Antonio Art Institute, and Washington State University.
He served as a war correspondent for Life magazine during World War II. He was the recipient of the Walter Lippencott Prize in 1947 and the Benjamin Altman Prize in 1949.
His works can be found in the collections of Abbott Laboratories, Brandice University, the Cranbrook Institute, the Denver Art Museum, and the Library of Congress.
Sealing the Crevice
Watercolor on paper
Watercolor on paper
Sealing a fault in the granite wall of the forebay reservoir for the Grand Coulee Third
powerplant, Columbia Basin Project.
The Columbia Basin Project is a major water resource development in central Washington State with Grand Coulee Dam as the project's primary feature. The power plant at Grand Coulee supplies much of the power needed by the Pacific Northwest. The generators of the third powerhouse alone provide sufficient electricity to meet the needs of both Seattle and Portland.powerplant, Columbia Basin Project.
Inside the Turbine
Oil on canvas, 30" x 42"
Workmen inside the turbine scroll case, Grand Coulee Power Plant, Columbia Basin Project, Washington.
The Columbia Basin Project is a major water resource development in central Washington State with Grand Coulee Dam as the project's primary feature. The power plant at Grand Coulee supplies much of the power needed by the Pacific Northwest. The generators of the third powerhouse alone provide sufficient electricity to meet the needs of both Seattle and Portland.
Pyramid Lake
Pyramid Lake is the terminus for the Truckee River which begins high in the Sierra Nevada at Lake Tahoe. Water from the Truckee and Carson Rivers is used to irrigate lands on the Newlands Project in the vicinity of Fallon, Nevada. The Newlands Project was originally known as the Truckee-Carson Project at was the first project authorized for construction by the then United States Reclamation Service, now the Bureau of Reclamation. The project was renamed the Newlands Project in honor of Francis Newlands, the author of the 1902 Reclamation Act and a staunch supporter of western reclamation.
