Ink, Oil, and Graphite

You would think that having parents who are successful artists would naturally set their offspring on a path leading directly to fine art. Not so if that offspring is Maia Chavez Larkin. “I was certain that I would never be an artist, because it seemed like a tough way to make a living,” she says. “I thought it also meant being nervous about finances. It seemed like a hard life and a tough way to make a living. I thought I’d have a real job.”

After years of working as an illustrator, four years ago Larkin became what she never thought she would: an artist. It was the right move at the right time, and she quickly began to make a name for herself with her uniquely stylized paintings of ranch life.

Both of Larkin’s parents were classically trained—and very successful. Her father, Edward Chavez, who passed away in 1999, started his career by creating murals in government buildings through the Works Projects Administration under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He later moved to Woodstock, New York, and 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 are included in the collections of the Whitney, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Library of Congress.

Read the full article in the July/August 2026 issue.