Gertrude Abercrombie
Encyclopedia
Gertrude Abercrombie was an American painter
based in Chicago
. Called "the queen of the bohemian artists," Abercrombie was involved in the Chicago jazz
scene and friends with musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie
, Charlie Parker
, and Sarah Vaughan
, whose music inspired her own creative work.
. Her parents, Tom and Lula Janes Abercrombie were traveling opera singers who happened to be in Austin on the day of Gertrude's birth. The family lived in Berlin
in 1913 to further her mother's career, but the beginning of World War I
caused the family to move back to the United States. Upon their return the family lived in Aledo, Illinois
before settling in Hyde Park, Chicago
in 1916.
She earned a degree in Romance Language
from the University of Illinois in 1929. She then went on to study figure drawing
briefly at the Art Institute of Chicago
. She also took a year long course in commercial art
at the American Academy of Art
in Chicago, leading to her first job drawing gloves for Mesirow Department Store advertisements. She also worked briefly as an artist for Sears. Raised in a strict Christian Scientist environment at home, she would move out of her families home in the mid-1930s and become active in the regional art scene.
In 1940 she married lawyer Robert Livingston and in 1942 gave birth to their daughter Dinah. In 1948 the couple divorce
d and that same year she married music critic Frank Sandiford, with Dizzy Gillespie performing at the wedding. The couple were active in the bohemian lifestyle and jazz
scene of Chicago hence their connection Gillepsie. They met musicians through Sandiford and through Abercrombie's own skills as a improvisational pianist
. The couple would divorce in 1964.
Within Abercrombie's avant garde social circle she was the inspiration for the song "Gertrude's Bounce" by Richie Powell
, who claimed that she walked 'just like the way the rhythm sounds in the Introduction',and she appeared as herself in James Purdy's
Gertrude of Stony Island Avenue and as a fictional character in Purdy's Malcolm, Eustace Chisholm.
By the late 1950s her health declined due to financial trouble, alcoholism
, arthritis
that caused her to be wheelchair
bound, and reclusiveness. After 1959 her paintings diminished in number as well as scale. In the final year of her life, a major retrospective of her work was held at the Hyde Park Art Center
. She died in Chicago July 3, 1977. Her will
established the Gertrude Abercrombie Trust which distributed her work and the work of other artists she owned to cultural institutions throughout the Midwest.
in Chicago and received an honorable mention in the newspaper for the event. From 1934-1940 she served as a painter for the Works Progress Administration
and in 1934 year the Chicago Society of Artists held a solo show of her work. During the 1930s and 1940s she also began creating woodcut
s.
, self-portrait
s, and still-lifess. Many compositions feature a lone woman in a flowing gown, often depicted with attributes of sorcery: an owl, a black cat, a crystal ball
, or a broomstick. These works were often self-portraits, as she stated in an interview with Studs Terkel
shortly before her death: "it is always myself that I paint". Tall and sharp-featured, she considered herself ugly; in life she sometimes wore a pointed velvet hat to accentuate her witch-like appearance, "enjoy[ing] the power this artifice gave her over others who would fear or recoil from her". The 1940s and '50s are described as her most prolific and productive period; a time when she no longer painted many portraits, but retained the themes mentioned above.
Abercrombie's mature works are painted in a precise, controlled style. She took little interest in other artists' work, although she admired Magritte. Largely self-taught, she did not regard her lack of extensive formal training as a hindrance. She said of her work:
Her work evolved into incorporating her love for jazz
music, inspired by parties and jam session
s she hosted in her Hyde Park home. Musicians such as Sonny Rollins
, Max Roach
, Jackie Cain
and the Modern Jazz Quartet
were considered friends. Dizzy Gillespie
described her "the first bop artist. Bop in the sense that she has taken the essence of our music and transported it to another art form".
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...
based in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Called "the queen of the bohemian artists," Abercrombie was involved in the Chicago jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
scene and friends with musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
, and Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
, whose music inspired her own creative work.
Personal life & education
Abercrombie was born February 17, 1909 in Austin, TexasAustin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. Her parents, Tom and Lula Janes Abercrombie were traveling opera singers who happened to be in Austin on the day of Gertrude's birth. The family lived in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1913 to further her mother's career, but the beginning of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
caused the family to move back to the United States. Upon their return the family lived in Aledo, Illinois
Aledo, Illinois
Aledo is a city in Mercer County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,613 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Mercer County.-Geography:Aledo is located at ....
before settling in Hyde Park, Chicago
Hyde Park, Chicago
Hyde Park, located on the South Side of the City of Chicago, in Cook County, Illinois, United States and seven miles south of the Chicago Loop, is a Chicago neighborhood and one of 77 Chicago community areas. It is home to the University of Chicago, the Hyde Park Art Center, the Museum of Science...
in 1916.
She earned a degree in Romance Language
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
from the University of Illinois in 1929. She then went on to study figure drawing
Figure drawing
In art, a figure drawing is a study of the human form in its various shapes and body postures - sitting, standing or even sleeping. It is a study or stylized depiction of the human form, with the line and form of the human figure as the primary objective, rather than the subject person. It is a...
briefly at the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
. She also took a year long course in commercial art
Commercial art
Commercial art is historically a subsector of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. The term has become increasingly anachronistic in favor of more contemporary terms such as graphic design and advertising art.Commercial art traditionally...
at the American Academy of Art
American Academy of Art
The American Academy of Art is a professional, accredited fine arts school located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1923 for the education of both fine and commercial arts students. The school has a tradition of top art education with exceptional students being awarded the academy's...
in Chicago, leading to her first job drawing gloves for Mesirow Department Store advertisements. She also worked briefly as an artist for Sears. Raised in a strict Christian Scientist environment at home, she would move out of her families home in the mid-1930s and become active in the regional art scene.
In 1940 she married lawyer Robert Livingston and in 1942 gave birth to their daughter Dinah. In 1948 the couple divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d and that same year she married music critic Frank Sandiford, with Dizzy Gillespie performing at the wedding. The couple were active in the bohemian lifestyle and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
scene of Chicago hence their connection Gillepsie. They met musicians through Sandiford and through Abercrombie's own skills as a improvisational pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
. The couple would divorce in 1964.
Within Abercrombie's avant garde social circle she was the inspiration for the song "Gertrude's Bounce" by Richie Powell
Richie Powell
Richie Powell was an American bebop jazz pianist.Powell was born into a musical family in New York City, and was the younger brother of Bud Powell...
, who claimed that she walked 'just like the way the rhythm sounds in the Introduction',and she appeared as herself in James Purdy's
James Purdy
James Otis Purdy was a controversial American novelist, short story-writer, poet, and playwright who, since his debut in 1956, published over a dozen novels, and many collections of poetry, short stories, and plays. His work has been translated into more than 30 languages. He has been praised by...
Gertrude of Stony Island Avenue and as a fictional character in Purdy's Malcolm, Eustace Chisholm.
By the late 1950s her health declined due to financial trouble, alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
that caused her to be wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
bound, and reclusiveness. After 1959 her paintings diminished in number as well as scale. In the final year of her life, a major retrospective of her work was held at the Hyde Park Art Center
Hyde Park Art Center
The Hyde Park Art Center is a visual arts organization and the oldest alternative exhibition space in the city of Chicago. Since 2006, HPAC has been located just north of Hyde Park Boulevard, at 5020 S.Cornell Avenue, in the Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois.-Beginnings:The Hyde Park Art...
. She died in Chicago July 3, 1977. Her will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
established the Gertrude Abercrombie Trust which distributed her work and the work of other artists she owned to cultural institutions throughout the Midwest.
Fine art career
While studying at the Institute she began working at a department store drawing gloves for advertisements and in 1932 she began to focus strictly on her art. The following summer she made her first sale at an outdoor art fairArt fair
An art fair is a commercial exhibition that shows the work of artists or art dealers. Each entrant has to pay a fee.Art fairs are not to be confused with art exhibitions. Exhibitions are organised by curators....
in Chicago and received an honorable mention in the newspaper for the event. From 1934-1940 she served as a painter for the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
and in 1934 year the Chicago Society of Artists held a solo show of her work. During the 1930s and 1940s she also began creating woodcut
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
s.
Themes
She painted many variations of her favored subjects: sparsely furnished interiors, barren landscapesLandscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
, self-portrait
Self-portrait
A self-portrait is a representation of an artist, drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by the artist. Although self-portraits have been made by artists since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid 15th century that artists can be frequently identified depicting...
s, and still-lifess. Many compositions feature a lone woman in a flowing gown, often depicted with attributes of sorcery: an owl, a black cat, a crystal ball
Crystal ball
A crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball believed by some people to aid in the performance of clairvoyance. It is sometimes known as a shew stone...
, or a broomstick. These works were often self-portraits, as she stated in an interview with Studs Terkel
Studs Terkel
Louis "Studs" Terkel was an American author, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for The Good War, and is best remembered for his oral histories of common Americans, and for hosting a long-running radio show in Chicago.-Early...
shortly before her death: "it is always myself that I paint". Tall and sharp-featured, she considered herself ugly; in life she sometimes wore a pointed velvet hat to accentuate her witch-like appearance, "enjoy[ing] the power this artifice gave her over others who would fear or recoil from her". The 1940s and '50s are described as her most prolific and productive period; a time when she no longer painted many portraits, but retained the themes mentioned above.
Abercrombie's mature works are painted in a precise, controlled style. She took little interest in other artists' work, although she admired Magritte. Largely self-taught, she did not regard her lack of extensive formal training as a hindrance. She said of her work:
I am not interested in complicated things nor in the commonplace. I like and like to paint simple things that are a little strange. My work comes directly from my inner consciousness and it must come easily. It is a process of selection and reduction.
Her work evolved into incorporating her love for jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
music, inspired by parties and jam session
Jam session
Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
s she hosted in her Hyde Park home. Musicians such as Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
, Max Roach
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
, Jackie Cain
Jackie Cain
Jackie Cain is an American jazz vocalist best known for her partnership with her husband Roy Kral as the team Jackie and Roy.-Selected discography:* So Many Stars -Literature:...
and the Modern Jazz Quartet
Modern Jazz Quartet
The Modern Jazz Quartet was established in 1952 by Milt Jackson , John Lewis , Percy Heath , and Kenny Clarke . Connie Kay replaced Clarke in 1955...
were considered friends. Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
described her "the first bop artist. Bop in the sense that she has taken the essence of our music and transported it to another art form".
Notable collections
- Ackland Art MuseumAckland Art MuseumThe Ackland Art Museum is a museum and academic unit of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It was founded through the bequest of William Hayes Ackland to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is located at 101 S...
, Chapel Hill, North CarolinaChapel Hill, North CarolinaChapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care... - Art Institute of ChicagoArt Institute of ChicagoThe School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
, Chicago, Illinois - Illinois State MuseumIllinois State MuseumThe Illinois State Museum is the official museum of the natural history of the U.S. state of Illinois. The headquarters museum is located on Spring and Edwards Streets, one block southwest of the Illinois State Capitol, in Springfield, the state capital...
, Springfield, IllinoisSpringfield, IllinoisSpringfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area... - Lakeview Museum of Arts and SciencesLakeview Museum of Arts and SciencesThe Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences is a public museum of science and culture located in Peoria, Illinois. It contains a planetarium....
, Peoria, IllinoisPeoria, IllinoisPeoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated... - Madison Museum of Contemporary ArtMadison Museum of Contemporary ArtThe Madison Museum of Contemporary Art — MMoCA, formerly known as the Madison Art Center, is an art museum located in Madison, Wisconsin. A three-story glass facade "icon" on the corner of State and Henry Streets serves as the museum's main staircase, as well as its architectural...
, Madison, WisconsinMadison, WisconsinMadison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison.... - Milwaukee Art MuseumMilwaukee Art MuseumThe Milwaukee Art Museum is located on Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Beginning around 1872, multiple organizations were founded in order to bring an art gallery to Milwaukee, as the city was still a growing port town with little or no facilities to hold major art exhibitions...
, Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the... - Museum of Contemporary ArtMuseum of Contemporary Art, ChicagoThe Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is a contemporary art museum near Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is one of the world's largest contemporary art venues...
, Chicago, Illinois - Smithsonian American Art MuseumSmithsonian American Art MuseumThe Smithsonian American Art Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C. with an extensive collection of American art.Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a broad variety of American art that covers all regions and art movements found in the United States...
, Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution.... - Western Illinois UniversityWestern Illinois UniversityWestern Illinois University is a public university founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. Like many similar institutions of the time, Western Illinois State Normal School focused on teacher training for its relatively small body of students. As the normal school grew, it became...
, Macomb, IllinoisMacomb, IllinoisMacomb is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States. It is situated in western Illinois southwest of Galesburg. The population was 18,588 at the 2000 census. Macomb is the home of Western Illinois University.- Geography :...
Notable awards
- Prize, Annual Exhibition of Works by Artists of Chicago and Vicinity, 1936;1938, Art Institute of Chicago
External links
- Gertrude Abercrombie papers, 1880-1986, bulk, 1935-1977 in the collection of the Archives of American ArtArchives of American ArtThe Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 16 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washington, D.C...