While Martin Puyear spent time in the Peace Corps in West Africa, he became educated on the woodworking techniques practiced in Sierra Leone. Although he was educated on the indigenous crafts of West Africans, he was formally trained at Yale University where he received a Master of Fine Art in sculpture. Puryear is known to use pure materials like wood, wire, stone, tar, and bronze to create complex constructions. A well-celebrated artist whose work has been exhibited in the Whitney Biennale, Whitney Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, and the National Gallery of Art, he also received both the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and the National Medal of Arts.