Background
Lucy Martin Lewis was born in Sky City, a mesa in Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico to Lola Santiago and Martin Ortiz.
Lucy Martin Lewis was born in Sky City, a mesa in Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico to Lola Santiago and Martin Ortiz.
She is known for her black-on-white decorative ceramics made using traditional techniques. Though she celebrated her birthday on November 2, her birth year, while unknown, was probably in the 1890s. Her early pottery was made for tourists.
The ash-bowls were easily made and sold for five or ten cents.
In the late 1910s, Lewis married Toribio "Haskaya" Luis. The family named was changed to Lewis when the oldest son, Ivan went into the marines during World World War World War II She had nine children, seven of which went on to become potters.
After the Gallup prize, Lewis began to sign her work, an act which created controversy within the Pueblo community. Her work continued to gain recognition and her pieces now reside in many prominent museums including The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Cooper Hewitt, and the American Art Museum.
Her work is in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum of the American Indian, as well as the Fred Jones Junior.
Museum of Art, Museum of North Orange County, Lowell Doctorate. Holmes Museum of Anthropology, National Museum of Women in the Arts, and others Lucy M. Lewis: American Indian Potter by Susan Harnly Peterson and Fred Kabotie
A Tribute to Lucy M. Lewis: Acoma Potter by John East. Collins and Doctor Frederick J. Dockstader.