Fletcher Martin

Fletcher Martin was a painter, printmaker, muralist and teacher, born in Palisade, Colorado. He dropped out of school at fifteen and ran odd jobs to get by. In 1922 he joined the Navy and became a lightweight boxer. His focus turned to art when he left the service in 1926, settling in San Francisco, California. He worked as an assistant to Mexican painter-muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros for a time in the early 1930s. During the Depression, he was commissioned by the WPA to paint murals of his own making. 

Much of Martin's work is derived from his interests early in life, particularly of boxing and other violent sports, and his experiences in World War II, when he served as an artist correspondent for Life Magazine.