Ettore DeGrazia (June 14, 1909 - September 17, 1982) was an American impressionist painter, sculptor, and lithographer. Self-described as the world's most reproduced artist, DeGrazia is known for his pastel-like images of Native American children of the American southwest and other western scenes. Born to a copper miner in Morenci, Arizona Territory, DeGrazia's graduation from high school was delayed to the age of 23 by a four-year family trip to Italy beginning in 1920. He later studied under Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco before returning to the University of Arizona where he received degrees in art and music.
DeGrazia's work first appeared in Arizona Highways magazine in 1941. In 1960 DeGrazia received a commission to produce cover art for UNICEF greeting cards. His designs have appeared on lithographs, collector plates, greeting cards, and in a series of Hummel figurines.
In 1976, Degrazia engaged in a protest against inheritance taxes that based the assessed value on market values of the work. The artist claimed the IRS rulings made him “a millionaire on paper and my heirs will have to pay taxes for which there is no money.” During the protest Degrazia rode horseback into the Superstition Mountains and burned 100 of his paintings.
DeGrazia's studio, located in Tucson, Arizona, has been preserved and operates as a museum of the artist's work.
