Martha Jay Gottfried (Arizona, 1925-2014) countryside landscape, oil on canvas, signed "M. Joy G." sight: 19 x 27 in., frame: 27.5 x 35 in. Property from the collection of a San Antonio, Texas lady Martha Joy Gottfriedn was an American-born Mexican landscape painter, born in Glendale, Arizona, who studied under Martha Sauer (1953–1954) and Gordon D. Jones (1955–1956) before entering the Acamedy of San Carlos in Mexico City; over the years she would learn from well-known artists before presenting her first solo exhibition in 1974 in the Mexican-American Institute of Cultural Relations in Mexico City. Gottfried's work was inspired by light, weather and natural beauty in various places, such as Arizona, Himalayas and, particularly, Mexico. Her production is vast and punctuated by a strong interest in mountain ranges, deserts and majestic Mexican volcanoes, like the Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl of Central Mexico. Some of her works were acquired by distinguished institutions and notable persons. Among others, during an honorary ceremony held in México City's Iztapalapa in 1976, she presented a painting of the Valley of Mexico to José López Portillo. In December 1978, the Duke of Kent received one of her paintings in a ceremony held by the British Chamber of Commerce in Mexico. It was estimated that Gottfried created around 700 paintings during the period 1969–1979. Much of her life was devoted to teaching in her own studio