Martinez, Elsie Whitaker, 1890-1984

Elsie Whitaker was born on March 1, 1890, in Manitoba, Canada, daughter of novelist and war correspondent Herman Whitaker and Margaret A Vandecar (1868-1905).

In 1902, she and her family moved to the hills of Piedmont, California, to the "Silk Culture House" at the end of Mountain Avenue. She went to Piedmont grammar school and spent two years Oakland High School. She loved books and studied European history, drama, and literature. By age 16, Whitaker was a "free-spirited artist."

Elsie met painter Xavier Martinez (1869–1943) at Coppa's Restaurant in San Francisco. Finding her a perfect subject, he sketched her and began his Elsie series. After the earthquake of 1906, Martinez moved to Piedmont. Months later, he proposed to an 18-year-old Whitaker, who had already promised to marry at least four other men, who were friends of her father. Choosing Martinez, she said, "I decided to pick the one who would give me the most interesting life." Martinez, at 37, was only two years younger than Elsie's father Herman Whitaker. The couple married on October 17, 1907, in San Francisco. She spent summers with Xavier while he taught classes between 1913 and 1940.

Xavier and Elise had a daughter on August 13, 1913, Micaela "Kai" Martinez.

In 1923, Elsie and Xavier Martínez separated and she moved into Harriet Dean's house, who she met at the Little Review which was published in San Francisco. Harriet, Kai, and Elsie went to Europe in 1922 and they spent a year in France. In 1939, Elise, Harriet, and Kai moved to Carmel. In 1941, Xavier became ill, so they took him to Carmel. He was with them for seven months before he died on January 13, 1943.

In 1962 and 1963, Elsie was interviewed extensively for the Regional Oral History Office as a part of a series on San Francisco Bay Area artistic and cultural history.

In 1981, Elsie moved to San Francisco.