Maia Chavez Larkin
The daughter of painter, sculptor and musician Edward Chavez and artist Eva van Rijn, Larkin grew up immersed in disciplines that valued craft, history and integrity. Her early years moved fluidly from a ranch in Southern Colorado, a medieval chateau in France, the art community of Taos, NM and Mexico, shaping a visual language rooted in place and observation. Trained in hand drafting and architectural rendering, and later working in fashion illustration for designers in NY and Paris, she brings precision, restraint and a strong sense of design to her paintings. Traditional drafting tools remain a part of her process, grounding each work in intention. Chavez Larkin is represented by Manitou Galleries in Santa Fe, Oh Be Joyful Gallery in Crested Butte, CO and Kuehl Fine Art in Trinidad, CO. Her work has shown in the Mountain Oyster Club Art Show, Small Works, Great Wonders at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and The Russell Saturday Night Live Auction, among others, and has graced the covers of Western Art Collector magazine and Southwest Art Magazine, as well as a 2026 feature in Art of the West.
Maia
Denver, Colorado
Maia Chavez Larkin
Maia Chavez Larkin was named Artist to Watch 2025 by the Cowgirl Artists of America and will be guest artist at the Manitou Galleries in Santa Fe for December. She received the Award of Excellence from Western Art Collector Magazine for her piece at the Resonance Invitational 2025.
Maia was raised by artist parents in the artists’ communities of Woodstock and Taos as well as
on a cattle ranch in Southern Colorado. Along with
learning from her parents and peers, she studied
architectural illustration at the New York School of Interior
Design, as well as painting and drawing with Il Chiostro in Vagliagli, Italy and at the Woodstock School of Art.
Before committing herself to Western art, Maia worked for nearly two decades as a professional illustrator.
Her Western work has been juried into the Resonance Invitational 2024 & 2025, the Cowgirl Gathering Art Show 2023, 2024 & 2025, Women’s Work 2024 & 2025, the 54th, 55th, 56th & 57th Annual Mountain Oyster Club Art Shows, Small Works, Great Wonders at The National Cowboy Museum OKC 2024 & 2025, Coors Young Guns at the 2025 & 2026, and The Russell First Strike Auction Night 2025 & Saturday Night Live Auction 2026.
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 with 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. A member of the Cowgirl Artists of America, Larkin’s work has shown in the Mountain Oyster Club Art Show 2023, New Western Talent 2023, the Cowgirl Gathering art show 2022, 2023 and 2024, and will be included in the upcoming Young Guns art show at the National Western Stock Show, Women’s Work at the A.R. Mitchell Museum, and Small Works, Great Wonders at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
