Maria Chabot

Maria Chabot
Maria Chabot and Skull, 1944
Born
Mary Lee Chabot

September 19, 1913
San Antonio, Texas
DiedJuly 9, 2001 (age 87)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
OccupationsIndigenous peoples rights activist, writer
SpouseDana K. Bailey (married in 1961 for six months)
PartnerDorothy Stewart (1933–1939)

Maria Chabot (1913–2001) was a writer, an advocate for Native American arts, a rancher, and a friend of Georgia O'Keeffe. She led the restoration, design, and building of O'Keeffe's home and studio in Abiquiú, New Mexico. She was also a gifted photographer, and took many famous photographs of the artist and her life. These include photos of camping trips to the Black Place and the photograph of O'Keeffe entitled Women Who Rode Away, which shows the artist sitting on the back of a motorcycle driven by Maurice Grosser. Some correspondence related to the building of the Abiquiu house was published in the book Maria Chabot—Georgia O'Keeffe: Correspondence 1941–1949.

Chabot was instrumental in establishing the modern Santa Fe Indian Market. She worked for the New Mexico Association on Indian Affairs and the federal Office of Indian Affairs documenting Native American arts and crafts. Chabot has been described as "a photographer, writer, and explorer".