basics of painting to Ricardo who produced his first in 1939. Shortly after this Oliverio died of an illness. Except for a course at the Galería de Arte Mexicano, Martínez is a self-taught painter, using art books with the works of European and Mexican masters as a guide, including a 1934 book in English called “The materials of the artist Max Doerner” . Martínez had a reputation for being introverted and modest, even reclusive, which he denied. However, despite this, Martínez had many friends and connections not only in the art world but in the political one as well. While visiting his brother on the Monumento project, he met sculptor Francisco Zúñiga and later he met Juan Soriano through gallery owner Inés Amor, who stated that Soriano did all the talking in that friendship. His main political connections were through two fellow students from law school Luis Echeverría and José López Portillo, both of whom went on to become president of Mexico. Both were also supportive of Martínez’s decision to move into painting. Echeverría gave him money from that destined to buy a suit, so that Martínez could buy his first oils. When Martínez needed a base to grind pigments, López Portillo took apart a French bureau from his family’s home to donate the marble top. Martín conserved that top for the rest of his life. However, despite this strong friendship with the two, Martínez never visited Los Pinos, the Mexican presidential residence. After he began his art career, he established his first studio in his family’s home in 1940. In 1943, he moved to a new studio in Colonia Anzures, becoming the neighbor and friend of Federico Cantú. He built his final studio on Calle de Etna, living and working there for the rest of his life. In 1969 he traveled to Europe visiting England, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy and Spain, visiting museums. Another of his influences, pre Hispanic sculpture, was represented in his home with a collection of 300 artifacts. Martínez met his wife Zarina Lacy at the Facultad de Filosofía y Letras of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico and they married in 1949. The couple had two children Pablo, now the head of the Ricado Martínez Foundation and Zarina, who lives in Paris. Martínez died of cardiac and respiratory arrest, while hospitalized with pneumonia at the age of ninety. Career Martínez began his art career