The U.S. Postal Service is honoring self-taught
Mexican-American artist Martin Ramirez (1895–1963) on a stamp sheet this month.
Ramírez moved from Mexico to the United States in 1925, and after
being diagnosed with schizophrenia in the early 1930s, spent the rest of his
life as a patient in California psychiatric hospitals. There, Ramírez turned to
art, creating some 500 pieces, some as large as 20 feet long.
His incredibly detailed work, which
incorporates imagery from the artist's life in both Mexico and the United States, now is widely recognized for its unconventional, yet
compelling draftsmanship, featuring figurative drawings often set in
abstract, geometric settings. Ramírez worked primarily in crayon, but
became interested in collage later in life.
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