Mary Tuthill Lindheim
Encyclopedia
Mary Tuthill Lindheim born Mary Barbara Tuthill, and also known professionally as Mary Tuthill or Mary Lindheim, was an American
sculptor and studio potter
.
She trained as a sculptor with Ralph Stackpole
and Alexander Archipenko
, working in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco between 1930 and 1945.
Widowed in World War II, she turned to ceramics, studying with Antonio Prieto at California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts
), and was an active studio artist and leader in potters' and craftsmen circles in the Bay Area
from 1946 to 1969.
In 1969 she moved to Bolinas, California
, and in 1994 she was given a retrospective at the small but respected Bolinas Museum, which revived her reputation.
and raised in Tucson, Arizona
, where her father was rector of Grace Episcopal Church, Mary Tuthill showed talent in art, writing, and acting. The desert's plant and animal life, landforms and colors strongly influenced her visual esthetic. Her first work of art, at age 11, was a miniature adobe
house. She suffered several childhood diseases, including typhoid fever, and was only sporadically enrolled in school. She was instructed by tutors and had the run of her father's vast, eclectic library. Her esthetic was also influenced by her mother's design sense and cultural interests, particularly musical. At the age of 14, upset over a news photograph of a lynching, Mary Tuthill joined the NAACP, and from then on was an ardent political and social activist.
at the California School of Fine Arts (now San Francisco Art Institute
) in 1930. In 1934 she met Alexander Archipenko
, who arranged for a scholarship for her at Chouinard Art Institute
in Los Angeles. Her first major exhibition was a juried group show at Transigram Studios in Los Angeles, where she won an Award of Merit. She moved to New York in the late 1930s and in 1938 studied briefly with Isamu Noguchi
and Jose de Creeft
. She excelled in terracotta, stone carving
and direct plaster.
Archipenko was her most influential teacher. She became good friends with him and his wife, sculptor Gela Forster (Angelica Archipenko, daughter of Bruno Schmitz
) and he hired her to teach with him at summer session at the University of Washington
in Seattle and at his summer school in Woodstock, New York. Noguchi was also an important influence, though her studies with him were brief.
As a potter Lindheim excelled in stoneware and surface treatments, including carved and inlaid work, and her glazes
, which she always mixed herself, included a heavily textured and exquisitely controlled crawl glaze she developed in the early 1950s. She always considered herself a sculptor first, and worked in diverse forms and in many different media. From 1946 to 1969 both her ceramics and her sculptural wall panels and mosaics employing magnesite
, sand
, metal
, stones, and pebbles were widely exhibited and won many awards. She lived for most of those years in Forest Knolls
and Sausalito.
She was married three times, to Jack Hereford (1928), William Robson (1933) and Donald Lindheim (1941). Tragically, Donald Lindheim died in the last few days of the war in 1945. She turned to ceramics to continue her art and make a living, and kept his name as her professional name.
In 1994 Lindheim came out of semi-retirement when she was given a retrospective at the Bolinas Museum. For the first time the public saw the breadth of her creative work - wall panels, mosaics, ceramics, sculpture, and jewelry - in the same place. She had retained most of her best work, living frugally so she would not have to sell more than absolutely necessary. Some of the work in the retrospective now resides in the permanent collections of the Oakland Museum of California
and the Bolinas Museum. The remainder is in other museums, private collections, and the estate of the artist.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sculptor and studio potter
Studio potter
A studio potter is one who is a modern artist, who either works alone or in a small group, producing unique items of pottery in small quantities, typically with all stages of manufacture carried out by themselves. Studio pottery includes functional wares such as tableware or cookware, and...
.
She trained as a sculptor with Ralph Stackpole
Ralph Stackpole
Ralph Ward Stackpole was an American sculptor, painter, muralist, etcher and art educator, San Francisco's leading artist during the 1920s and 1930s. Stackpole was involved in the art and causes of social realism, especially during the Great Depression, when he was part of the Federal Art Project...
and Alexander Archipenko
Alexander Archipenko
Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko was a Ukrainian avant-garde artist, sculptor, and graphic artist.-Biography:...
, working in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco between 1930 and 1945.
Widowed in World War II, she turned to ceramics, studying with Antonio Prieto at California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts
California College of the Arts
California College of the Arts , founded in 1907, is known for its broad, interdisciplinary programs in art, design, architecture, and writing. It has two campuses, one in Oakland and one in San Francisco, California, USA...
), and was an active studio artist and leader in potters' and craftsmen circles in the Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
from 1946 to 1969.
In 1969 she moved to Bolinas, California
Bolinas, California
Bolinas formerly Juggville is a coastal unincorporated community in Marin County, California in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bolinas is located west-southwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of 36 feet...
, and in 1994 she was given a retrospective at the small but respected Bolinas Museum, which revived her reputation.
Early life
Born in Newton, New JerseyNewton, New Jersey
Newton is a town in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town population was 8,244. It is the county seat of Sussex County....
and raised in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, where her father was rector of Grace Episcopal Church, Mary Tuthill showed talent in art, writing, and acting. The desert's plant and animal life, landforms and colors strongly influenced her visual esthetic. Her first work of art, at age 11, was a miniature adobe
Adobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
house. She suffered several childhood diseases, including typhoid fever, and was only sporadically enrolled in school. She was instructed by tutors and had the run of her father's vast, eclectic library. Her esthetic was also influenced by her mother's design sense and cultural interests, particularly musical. At the age of 14, upset over a news photograph of a lynching, Mary Tuthill joined the NAACP, and from then on was an ardent political and social activist.
Art education
She began studying sculpture with Ralph StackpoleRalph Stackpole
Ralph Ward Stackpole was an American sculptor, painter, muralist, etcher and art educator, San Francisco's leading artist during the 1920s and 1930s. Stackpole was involved in the art and causes of social realism, especially during the Great Depression, when he was part of the Federal Art Project...
at the California School of Fine Arts (now San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute is a school of higher education in contemporary art with the main campus in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, California. Its graduate center is in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The private, non-profit institution is accredited by WASC and is a member of the...
) in 1930. In 1934 she met Alexander Archipenko
Alexander Archipenko
Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko was a Ukrainian avant-garde artist, sculptor, and graphic artist.-Biography:...
, who arranged for a scholarship for her at Chouinard Art Institute
Chouinard Art Institute
The Chouinard Art Institute was a professional art school founded in 1921 in Los Angeles, California, by Nelbert Murphy Chouinard .-Founder:...
in Los Angeles. Her first major exhibition was a juried group show at Transigram Studios in Los Angeles, where she won an Award of Merit. She moved to New York in the late 1930s and in 1938 studied briefly with Isamu Noguchi
Isamu Noguchi
was a prominent Japanese American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public works, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces,...
and Jose de Creeft
Jose de Creeft
José De Creeft was a Spanish-born American sculptor and teacher.-Life and work:...
. She excelled in terracotta, stone carving
Stone carving
Stone carving is an ancient activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled removal of stone. Owing to the permanence of the material, evidence can be found that even the earliest societies indulged in some form of stone work....
and direct plaster.
Archipenko was her most influential teacher. She became good friends with him and his wife, sculptor Gela Forster (Angelica Archipenko, daughter of Bruno Schmitz
Bruno Schmitz
Bruno Schmitz , was a German architect best known for his monuments in the early 1900s, working closely with sculptors such as Emil Hundrieser, Nikolaus Geiger and Franz Metzner for integrated architectural and sculptural effect...
) and he hired her to teach with him at summer session at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in Seattle and at his summer school in Woodstock, New York. Noguchi was also an important influence, though her studies with him were brief.
Middle career
In the summer of 1946 Lindheim entered the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland to study with ceramist Antonio Prieto. She was awarded a scholarship after a semester of study, and within a year she was exhibiting with some of the best studio potters in America. She became active in the movements to achieve respect for ceramics and other studio craft, elevate standards for potters and encourage them to think beyond utilitarian ware, and encourage the development of a pottery for America—building from many traditions but going forward with the country's unique pioneering energy. She was president of the Association of San Francisco Potters, founded in 1945 by F. Carlton Bell, and was active as an officer and exhibitor in San Francisco Women Artists. She was a co-founder of Designer-Craftsmen of California, and for many years participated as an installation designer, juror and/or planner of the Sausalito Art Fair.As a potter Lindheim excelled in stoneware and surface treatments, including carved and inlaid work, and her glazes
Ceramic glaze
Glaze is a layer or coating of a vitreous substance which has been fired to fuse to a ceramic object to color, decorate, strengthen or waterproof it.-Use:...
, which she always mixed herself, included a heavily textured and exquisitely controlled crawl glaze she developed in the early 1950s. She always considered herself a sculptor first, and worked in diverse forms and in many different media. From 1946 to 1969 both her ceramics and her sculptural wall panels and mosaics employing magnesite
Magnesite
Magnesite is magnesium carbonate, MgCO3. Iron substitutes for magnesium with a complete solution series with siderite, FeCO3. Calcium, manganese, cobalt, and nickel may also occur in small amounts...
, sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
, metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
, stones, and pebbles were widely exhibited and won many awards. She lived for most of those years in Forest Knolls
Forest Knolls, Marin County, California
Forest Knolls is an unincorporated community in Marin County, California. It is located southwest of Novato, at an elevation of 249 feet . For census purposes, Forest Knolls is aggregated with Lagunitas into the census-designated place Lagunitas-Forest Knolls.The first post office at Forest Knolls...
and Sausalito.
Later life
In 1969 she moved to Bolinas, a coastal community in west Marin County, and continued to pursue her art, but at a slower pace. There she worked on a family biography, Dad and His Family. It was completed after her death and is unpublished.She was married three times, to Jack Hereford (1928), William Robson (1933) and Donald Lindheim (1941). Tragically, Donald Lindheim died in the last few days of the war in 1945. She turned to ceramics to continue her art and make a living, and kept his name as her professional name.
In 1994 Lindheim came out of semi-retirement when she was given a retrospective at the Bolinas Museum. For the first time the public saw the breadth of her creative work - wall panels, mosaics, ceramics, sculpture, and jewelry - in the same place. She had retained most of her best work, living frugally so she would not have to sell more than absolutely necessary. Some of the work in the retrospective now resides in the permanent collections of the Oakland Museum of California
Oakland Museum of California
Oakland Museum of California or Oakland Museum is a museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California located in Oakland, California....
and the Bolinas Museum. The remainder is in other museums, private collections, and the estate of the artist.
Unpublished manuscripts
- Lindheim, Mary, Editor, A Soldier's Letters, 1995.
- Lindheim, Mary, Dad and His Family, 2006.