Born in New Orleans in 1948, Martin Payton currently lives and maintains a studio in Baton Rouge. Payton was a professor of art at Southern University from 1990 until retirement in 2010. He received his BFA from Xavier University and his MFA from Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. Payton’s work is held in the permanent collections of NOMA, the Amistad Research Center, the William King Regional Arts Center, and the Rosekrans Runnymede Sculpture Garden. In 2002, as part of a collaboration with friend and colleague John T. Scott, Payton constructed the Spirit House, a public art project that celebrated African American contributions to New Orleans by incorporating drawings of area school children into the project.
