Maria Gonçalves Barreira (1914–2010) was a Portuguese sculptor, ceramicist, and teacher who was banned from teaching for 16 years by the Estado Novo dictatorship for her political activism.

She later temporarily abandoned her studies to dedicate herself to anti-dictatorship activities, joining the Associação Feminina Portuguesa para a Paz (Portuguese Women's Association for Peace – AFPP) and the Movimento de Unidade Democrática (Movement of Democratic Unity – MUD).

He had been arrested in 1935 for opposition to the government and served time in three mainland prisons before being sent to Angra do Heroísmo in the Azores, where he was held for two years.

They both sculpted in an atelier on Rua da Alegria in Lisbon, which they shared with other artists such as José Malhoa, Alice Jorge and Júlio Pomar.

[1][2][3][5] In the company of Celestino Alves and João Hogan, she and her husband went to Paris for six months as scholarship holders from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, giving them the opportunity to visit numerous galleries and exhibitions and come into direct contact with artists producing at the time, a factor that contributed decisively to their styles.

Barreira started to teach when permitted to do so in 1967, working as a drawing and visual education teacher, and continued doing so until 1981, when she retired at the age of 67.