Judithe Hernández (born 1948) is an American artist and educator, she is known as a muralist, pastel artist, and painter. She a pioneer of the Chicano art movement and a former member of the art collective Los Four. She is based in Los Angeles, California and previously lived in Chicago. She first received acclaim in the 1970s as a muralist her artistic practice shifted over time and now is centered on works-on-paper, principally pastels, which frequently incorporate indigenist imagery and the social-political tension of gender roles. In 1974, she became the fifth member, and only woman, in Los Four, the influential and celebrated East Los Angeles Chicano artist collective, along with Carlos Almaraz, Frank Romero, Robert de la Rocha, and Gilbert Luján. And she was later briefly part of the art collective, Centro de Arte Público along with Barbara Carrasco and Dolores Guerrero-Cruz. As early as 1970, Hernández was involved in the initial efforts of Chicano artists in East Los Angeles to organize. Of this experience, Hernández later said that "Often I was literally the only female at meetings who was not a girlfriend or wife, but an active artist participant." Early life and education Judithe Hernández was born in 1948 in Los Angeles, California. She attended Otis College of Art and Design (formally called Otis Art Institute) where she received her BFA degree in 1972, and then her MFA degree in 1979. When she enrolled at Otis College in 1969, she was only one of five Mexican-American students enrolled. While attending graduate school in 1972 at Otis College, she met her classmate, Carlos Almaraz. Through her friendship with Almaraz, she was invited as the fifth member to join Los Four art collective in 1974. During her time at Otis College, Hernández studied drawing with the renowned African-American artist Charles White who became a mentor and important influence on her development as an artist. Hernández attributes much of her success to the teachers and professors who recognized her ability and encouraged her to pursue her career as an artist. In 1971, while working as the illustrator of the Aztlán Journal, published by the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, Hernández illustrated the first volume of poetry by the celebrated poet Alurista, Floricanto en Aztlán. In 2013, the 40th anniversary edition of the book received three prizes at the International Latino Book awards. Career 1970s After graduation, she and Almaraz collaborated with