Fannie Hillsmith
Encyclopedia
Fannie Hillsmith was an American
cubist painter
.
, Massachusetts
in 1911. Her grandfather was a painter, as well as one of the founders of the Boston Museum School. Hillsmith would attend in the Boston Museum School for four years.
Hillsmith married Gordon Welchman in 1958. The couple divorced in 1970.
to New York City
in 1934. Once in New York, she took an interest in vanguard art through her studies and gradually developed an abstract
style. Hillsmith studied under such teachers as William Zorach
and Yasuo Kuniyoshi
for one year while at the Art Students League
. She went on to study at New York University
at the A. E. Gallatin Collection.
Fannie Hillsmith held her first art show in New York at the Norlyst Gallery, owned by Jimmy Ernst
, in 1943. She also displayed her work in three shows at the Art of This Century Gallery in Manhattan, which was owned by Peggy Guggenheim
. She also exhibited at a series of shows at the Peridot Gallery and the Charles Egan Gallery during the 1950s and 1960s.
Hillsmith began working at Atelier 17, which was an intaglio printmaking
workshop owned by Stanley William Hayter
, in 1946. She worked at Aterlier alongside noted artists such as Yves Tanguy
, Miró
and Jacques Lipchitz
. Hillsmith also taught briefly at Black Mountain College
, located in Asheville, North Carolina
.
Hillmsith's style of Cubism
combined traditional Cubist motifs with what she called "an early American feeling." She was influenced by such painters as Picasso, Gris
and Miró, according to The New York Times
. Her most famous painting was the Molasses Jug, an oil painting
completed in 1949.
Fannie Hillsmith actively painted Cubist art for nearly sixty years. She had been represented by an art gallery
in Manhattan
's SoHo neighborhood since 1990. She continued painting every day until January 2007.
Hillsmith died in her sleep at her home in Jaffrey, New Hampshire
on July 27, 2007.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cubist painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
.
Personal life
Fannie Hillsmith was born in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in 1911. Her grandfather was a painter, as well as one of the founders of the Boston Museum School. Hillsmith would attend in the Boston Museum School for four years.
Hillsmith married Gordon Welchman in 1958. The couple divorced in 1970.
Career
Hillsmith moved from BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1934. Once in New York, she took an interest in vanguard art through her studies and gradually developed an abstract
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
style. Hillsmith studied under such teachers as William Zorach
William Zorach
William Zorach was a Lithuanian-born American sculptor, painter, printmaker, and writer. He won the Logan Medal of the arts.-Life and career:...
and Yasuo Kuniyoshi
Yasuo Kuniyoshi
was an American painter, photographer and printmaker born in Okayama, Japan.He migrated to America in 1906, a year later began studying at the Los Angeles School of Art and Design. In 1935 he was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship. He taught at the Art Students League of New York in New York City...
for one year while at the Art Students League
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
. She went on to study at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
at the A. E. Gallatin Collection.
Fannie Hillsmith held her first art show in New York at the Norlyst Gallery, owned by Jimmy Ernst
Jimmy Ernst
Jimmy Ernst was an American painter born in Germany.-Early life:Jimmy Ernst was born in 1920 in Cologne, Germany, the son of surrealist painter Max Ernst and Luise Straus, a well-known art historian and journalist. His parents divorced in 1922 and Ernst staying with his mother in Cologne...
, in 1943. She also displayed her work in three shows at the Art of This Century Gallery in Manhattan, which was owned by Peggy Guggenheim
Peggy Guggenheim
Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim was an American art collector. Born to a wealthy New York City family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down with the Titanic in 1912 and the niece of Solomon R. Guggenheim, who would establish the Solomon R...
. She also exhibited at a series of shows at the Peridot Gallery and the Charles Egan Gallery during the 1950s and 1960s.
Hillsmith began working at Atelier 17, which was an intaglio printmaking
Intaglio (printmaking)
Intaglio is a family of printmaking techniques in which the image is incised into a surface, known as the matrix or plate, and the incised line or area holds the ink. Normally, copper or zinc plates are used as a surface, and the incisions are created by etching, engraving, drypoint, aquatint or...
workshop owned by Stanley William Hayter
Stanley William Hayter
Stanley William Hayter , CBE was a British painter and printmaker associated in the 1930s with Surrealism and from 1940 onward with Abstract Expressionism. Regarded as one of the most significant printmakers of the 20th century, in 1927 Hayter founded the legendary Atelier 17 studio in Paris...
, in 1946. She worked at Aterlier alongside noted artists such as Yves Tanguy
Yves Tanguy
Raymond Georges Yves Tanguy , known as Yves Tanguy, was a French surrealist painter.-Biography:Tanguy was born in Paris, France, the son of a retired navy captain. His parents were both of Breton origin...
, Miró
Joan Miró
Joan Miró i Ferrà was a Spanish Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona.Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride...
and Jacques Lipchitz
Jacques Lipchitz
Jacques Lipchitz was a Cubist sculptor.Jacques Lipchitz was born Chaim Jacob Lipchitz, son of a building contractor in Druskininkai, Lithuania, then within the Russian Empire...
. Hillsmith also taught briefly at Black Mountain College
Black Mountain College
Black Mountain College, a school founded in 1933 in Black Mountain, North Carolina, was a new kind of college in the United States in which the study of art was seen to be central to a liberal arts education, and in which John Dewey's principles of education played a major role...
, located in Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
.
Hillmsith's style of Cubism
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
combined traditional Cubist motifs with what she called "an early American feeling." She was influenced by such painters as Picasso, Gris
Juan Gris
José Victoriano González-Pérez , better known as Juan Gris, was a Spanish painter and sculptor who lived and worked in France most of his life...
and Miró, according to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. Her most famous painting was the Molasses Jug, an oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
completed in 1949.
Fannie Hillsmith actively painted Cubist art for nearly sixty years. She had been represented by an art gallery
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's SoHo neighborhood since 1990. She continued painting every day until January 2007.
Hillsmith died in her sleep at her home in Jaffrey, New Hampshire
Jaffrey, New Hampshire
Jaffrey is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,457 at the 2010 census.The primary settlement in town, where 2,757 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Jaffrey census-designated place and is located along the Contoocook River at the...
on July 27, 2007.