Martín Ramírez

(Mexican, 1895–1963)

Martín Ramírez was a self-taught Mexican artist whose intricate drawings melded Catholic iconography and figures into surreal spaces. His idiosyncratic works were made on salvaged paper bags and postcards pieced together with a glue composed of saliva and potato starch. Born on January 30, 1895 in Tepatitlán, Mexico, he left his wife and children behind in 1925 to find work in California. After six years of working on the railroads, he like other laborers of the era lost his job during the Great Depression. Homeless and unable to explain his situation in English, he was taken to a medical facility by police where he was diagnosed with catatonic schizophrenia. He would spend the next 30 years in psychiatric facilities. In 1948, after moving from the Stockton State Hospital to the DeWitt State Hospital outside of Sacramento he began creating the works for which he is now remembered. It was a professor of art and psychology, Tarmo Pasto, who first took an interest in Ramírez’s work. Pasto later put on exhibitions of his work at colleges and sent 10 drawings to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 1955. Despite efforts to bring the artist to public attention, he remained mostly unknown during his lifetime. The artist died of tuberculosis on February 17, 1963 in Auburn, CA. It was not until 1973, when the Chicago Imagists Gladys Nilsson and Jim Nutt organized a solo exhibition of Ramírez’s work at Phyllis Kind Gallery that he began to gain notoriety. In 2007, he was the subject of a retrospective show at the American Folk Art Museum in New York. The artist’s works are presently held in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., the American Folk Art Museum in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Bern, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, among others.

Martín Ramírez News

Artworks Owned by the Late Billionaire William Louis-Dreyfus Highlighted Christie's Somewhat Muted $2 Million Outsider Art Sale

by Eileen Kinsella

Artworks Owned by the Late Billionaire William Louis-Dreyfus Highlighted Christie's Somewhat Muted $2 Million Outsider Art Sale

Art & Exhibitions

Must-See Art Guide: The Netherlands

Must-See Art Guide: The Netherlands

Art & Exhibitions

Outsider Artist Martín Ramírez Gets USPS Stamps, Ricco/Maresca Solo Show

by Sarah Cascone

Outsider Artist Martín Ramírez Gets USPS Stamps, Ricco/Maresca Solo Show

Martín Ramírez Artworks

Martín Ramírez (60 results)

Untitled (Caballero in Red Shirt No. 2)

Martín Ramírez

Untitled (Caballero in Red Shirt No. 2)

Sold

Untitled (Stag on Mound with Fireworks)

Martín Ramírez

Untitled (Stag on Mound with Fireworks)

Sold

Untitled 101

Martín Ramírez

Sold

Untitled (Agricultural Abstraction), ca. 1960–1963

Martín Ramírez

Untitled (Agricultural Abstraction), ca. 1960–1963

Price on Request

Untitled (Riding Forward and Back), ca. 1960–1963

Martín Ramírez

Untitled (Riding Forward and Back), ca. 1960–1963

Price on Request

Untitled (Man Riding Yellow Donkey), ca. 1960–1963

Martín Ramírez

Untitled (Man Riding Yellow Donkey), ca. 1960–1963

Price on Request

Untitled (Train and Tunnel), ca. 1960–1963

Martín Ramírez

Untitled (Train and Tunnel), ca. 1960–1963

Price on Request

Untitled, (Vertical Train with..., ca. 1960–ca. 1963

Martín Ramírez

Untitled, (Vertical Train with..., ca. 1960–ca. 1963

Sold

Untitled (Caballero), 1950

Martín Ramírez

Untitled (Caballero), 1950

Sale Date: September 29, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled

Martín Ramírez

Sale Date: February 3, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled (Horse and Rider), circa 1953, 1953

Martín Ramírez

Untitled (Horse and Rider), circa 1953, 1953

Sale Date: February 3, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled (Tunnels and Train), 1950–1959

Martín Ramírez

Untitled (Tunnels and Train), 1950–1959

Sale Date: January 21, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled (Man on Donkey)

Martín Ramírez

Untitled (Man on Donkey)

Sale Date: December 16, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled (Church and Cross), 1953

Martín Ramírez

Untitled (Church and Cross), 1953

Sale Date: January 17, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled (Abstracted Landscape with..., 1960–1963

Martín Ramírez

Untitled (Abstracted Landscape with..., 1960–1963

Sale Date: January 17, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled (Rabbit/Deer), 1960–1963

Martín Ramírez

Untitled (Rabbit/Deer), 1960–1963

Sale Date: May 16, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled (Horse and Rider), 1953

Martín Ramírez

Untitled (Horse and Rider), 1953

Sale Date: January 18, 2019

Auction Closed

UNTITLED (TRAIN AND TUNNEL), 1960–1963

Martín Ramírez

UNTITLED (TRAIN AND TUNNEL), 1960–1963

Sale Date: May 17, 2018

Auction Closed

Horse and Rider

Martín Ramírez

Horse and Rider

Sale Date: January 19, 2018

Auction Closed

TRAIN AND TUNNEL, 1950–1955

Martín Ramírez

TRAIN AND TUNNEL, 1950–1955

Sale Date: January 21, 2017

Auction Closed

DOUBLE TRAINS, 1954

Martín Ramírez

DOUBLE TRAINS, 1954

Sale Date: January 21, 2017

Auction Closed

Untitled (Brown Fawn), 1960

Martín Ramírez

Untitled (Brown Fawn), 1960

Sale Date: November 22, 2016

Auction Closed

Untitled (Landscape with Oxen and Woman)

Martín Ramírez

Untitled (Landscape with Oxen and Woman)

Sale Date: September 20, 2016

Auction Closed

UNTITLED HORSE AND RIDER, 1955

Martín Ramírez

UNTITLED HORSE AND RIDER, 1955

Sale Date: January 22, 2016

Auction Closed

Previous 1 2 3 Next

English (US)

©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.