Marta Colvin Andrade was the daughter of James Colvin of Irish descent and Elvira Andrade of Portuguese descent. After the 1939 Chillán earthquake, she lived in Santiago, Chile, and studied at the School of Arts. In 1943 she was appointed assistant professor from the sculpture workshop of Julio A. Vasquez and master Lorenzo Domínguez and was officially appointed Professor in 1950. In 1948 she attended the Grande Chaumiere Academie in Paris with masters Ossian Zadkine and Henry Laurens. She went on to live in France for more than thirty years. In 1965 she took part in the first Sao Paulo Biennale. She was known worldwide and awarded the National Art Prize in 1970 in recognition of her works.