Margaret Gutierrez

1936 - 2018

BiographyMargaret Gutierrez is a potter from Santa Clara Pueblo. She was born in 1936 and is the daughter of potters Lela and Van Gutierrez. She started to learned how to shape the pots from her mother at age 12 and later her father how to mix clay slips for color. She frequently collaborated with her brother Luther Gutierrez until his death in 1987, with her niece, Pauline, for a short time until her death, and then with her great-niece Stephanie Naranjo. Margaret died in 2018.

Margaret and Luther’s painted slips included unique color combinations. Their first creations included polychrome bowls, jars and wedding vases. In the 1970s they came up with their original idea of making polychrome caricatures of animals and other smaller figurines rather than the jars made famous by their parents. These were painted with the same slips and pigments used on earlier pieces.

Person TypeIndividual