Mary-Anne Martin is one of the leading dealers of Latin American art in the United States. She single-handledly created the auction market for Latin American paintings during her years at Sotheby's. As an independent gallery owner she has bought and sold some of the most wellknown examples of Latin American painting by masters like Tamayo Rivera Lam, Matta, and others. Her... acquisition of Frida Kahlo s' 1949 Diego y yo set the record for a Latin American purchase. She has promoted the art of many younger artists and has given the first U.S. showing to painters like Nahum Zenil, José Luis Romo, and numerus others.

Edward Sullivan, Latin American Art, 1990

Mary-Anne Martin, a native New Yorker, was educated at Smith and Barnard Colleges, and did graduate work at NYU's Institute of Fine Arts. In 1966 she interrupted her graduate studies to fill in for a month in the Impressionist Department at Sotheby's New York (then called Parke Bernet Galleries). This led to a thirteen year career with that firm, during which Martin trained as an expert in impressionist and modern paintings, eventually becoming head of their Paintings Department as well as their first female Senior Vice President and officer of the Board. A trip to Mexico City in 1974 kindled Martin's interest in Mexican Art and in 1977 she organized the first auction of Mexican Paintings ever held in the United States. In 1979 she followed with the first auction of Latin American Paintings. The success of this sale led Martin to found the Latin American Department at Sotheby's, and important semi-annual sales of Latin American Art have been held there as well as at Christie's ever since.

In 1982 Martin, noting the absence of private galleries in the United States devoted to the Latin American field, left the auction house in order to found Mary-Anne Martin/Fine Art (mam/fa), a gallery completely devoted to the promotion and sale of Mexican and Latin American Art. Now in its fifteenth year, mam/fa is known worldwide as the premier gallery in the Latin American field, catering to collectors and museums throughout the world.

Martin is a vice president of the Board of the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA).