Biography
Western artist Maia Cha?vez Larkin was born in the artists community of Woodstock, NY to a family of artists. Her father, Edward Cha?vez, started his career creating murals in public spaces across the West through the WPA initiative. After moving East following WWII, he became an integral part of the Woodstock artists colony, a member of the National Academy of Design, and a professor at the New York Art Students League. His works exist in the collections of the Whitney, MoMA, The Hirshorn Collection and the Library of Congress. Her mother, Eva van Rijn, is an award-winning conservation artist who was for many years the president of the Board of Directors at the Woodstock School of Art. Her wildlife and landscape paintings are in the collections of six art museums.
Along with learning from her parents and a community of artists in both Woodstock and Taos, Maia has studied architectural illustration at the New York School of Interior Design, as well as painting and drawing with Il Chiostro in Vagliagli, Italy and the Woodstock School of Art in Woodstock, NY.
Her work has shown in galleries including the Kiesendahl + Calhoun Gallery in Beacon, NY, the Fletcher Gallery in Woodstock, NY and the Paradise Garage in Manhattan. She has also worked for nearly two decades as a professional illustrator in various arenas including fashion illustration, botanical illustration and architectural illustration. Her clients have included Anai?s & I (New York), Mini + Maximus (CA), Le Vestiere de Jeanne (France), Vail Resorts (CO) and Papyrus (US) as well as the blog and original cookbook of The Pioneer Woman. Her work has shown for two years in a row at the Cowgirl Gathering Art Show, three of her pieces were juried into New Western Talent 2023, and she has been juried into the inaugural Women’s Work show for 2024.
