María Izquierdo (October 30, 1902 – December 2, 1955) was a Mexican painter. She is known for being the first Mexican woman to have her artwork exhibited in the United States. She committed both her life and her career to painting art that displayed her Mexican roots and held her own among famous (important figure in mexicanismo) Mexican male artists: Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros. Early life María Cenobia Izquierdo Gutiérrez was born in San Juan de los Lagos, Jalisco, Mexico. At age five, she and her mother moved to Torreón after the death of her father. Her mother later married Dr. Nicanor Valdes Rodríguez, at which point Izquierdo was raised by her grandparents and relatives in small towns in Northern Mexico. Both her grandmother and aunt were devout Catholics, and much of her upbringing revolved around daily Catholic traditions. Always interested in art, Izquierdo spent much of her time alone, teaching herself new art techniques. In 1923, she and her family moved to Mexico City, where she was able to go to school to study art and develop into a professional artist. Training Izquierdo began studying in January 1928 at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes (Academy of Fine Arts). Her move to Mexico City in the 1920s evoked her to explore her growing passion for art and came about the same time a paradigm shift occurred in Mexico. At the same time, the Mexican Revolution came to an end, bringing along a change of values in Mexico. Through President Álvaro Obregón, many new reform policies were emphasized, pushing for more social and educational institutions that upheld traditional Mexican beliefs and culture. These ideals resonated with Izquierdo, drawing her to attend the art academy. Prior to Obregón's reforms, European art served as the model in art institutions. His new reforms drew in many of Mexico's most talented artists, commissioning their creation of murals addressing the importance of traditional Mexican values, which were painted on both schools and government buildings. While attending the Academy of Fine Arts, Izquierdo was instructed by Rufino Tamayo, Manuel Rodríguez Lozano and German Gedovius. She was also highly influenced by Diego Rivera, who served the director of Academy of Fine Arts in 1929 and later became pivotal in helping launch Izquierdo's career. Recognized as one of Rivera's favorite students, the praise she received by Rivera lead to her undergoing frequent hostility