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Ettore "Ted" DeGrazia
Born in 1909 in the eastern Arizona Territory mining camp of Morenci where his father, an Italian immigrant, worked in the copper mine, Ettore DeGrazia was given the nickname “Ted” by one of his early school teachers. He showed artistic talent even as a child, and one of his first sculptures, “Head of Christ,” was baked in his mother’s oven. From 1920-1924 the family traveled in Italy, which interruption of Ted’s formal education resulted in his delayed graduation from Morenci High School at the age of 23. Continuing on to the University of Arizona in Tucson, he earned degrees in art and music. In 1941, several of his paintings were reproduced in Arizona Highways magazine, which continued to publish his art throughout his lifetime.
 After studying with Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco in Mexico City (who sponsored a solo exhibition of his artwork at the prestigious Palacio de Bellas Artes in 1942), DeGrazia returned to Tucson and built his first adobe studio in 1944. As the city expanded around them, he and his wife Marion bought ten acres in the Tucson Foothills and built both their home and the Mission in the Sun in 1951, followed by the Gallery in the Sun in 1965, where many famous artists, including Thomas Hart Benton, frequently visited.
Perhaps best known for his impressionistic pastel images of Native American children of the American Southwest and other Western scenes, DeGrazia gained international fame in 1960 when his painting “Los Niños” (the children) was chosen as a UNICEF greeting card that sold millions worldwide. The value of his artwork soared. This, however, had a personal down side, and in 1976, DeGrazia gained notoriety as a tax protester. Railing against inheritance taxes that based assessed value of works of art on their market value, DeGrazia accused the IRS of making him a millionaire on paper and thereby subjecting his heirs to huge estate taxes that they would be unable to pay. In his well-publicized tax protest, DeGrazia rode into the Superstition Mountains on horseback, taking 100 of his paintings with him which he proceeded to set ablaze! This infamous event was reported in both  The Wall Street Journal and People magazine, becoming part of the DeGrazia legend before his death in 1982. Today DeGrazia’s Gallery in the Sun, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is a museum of his work and a must-see Tucson attraction.
DeGrazia often described himself as “the world’s most reproduced artist.” His designs have appeared on lithographs, greeting cards, in a series of Hummel figurines, and on several series of collector plates. We are extremely proud to be able to offer a number of these limited edition plates for sale here at Santa Fe Trading Post. Even if you have never considered yourself to be an art connoisseur, you can’t fail to fall in love with these exquisite plates that showcase Ted DeGrazia’s marvelous art in all its full-color glory. Each plate comes to you in its original packaging in pristine condition, clearly marked on the back with its name, year of production, the series from which it comes, and its number in that series. Sure to increase in value as the years go by, these heirloom quality plates, fired in fine porcelain china, will add grace and beauty to your home and become prized possessions to be passed down through the generations.
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