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Norris Embry
Encyclopedia
Norris Embry was an American neo-expressionist
artist born on January 14, 1921 in Louisville, Kentucky
.
He grew up in East Orange, New Jersey
outside New York City
and Evanston, Illinois
in the Chicago
area, attending public schools through high school. Later, he studied at St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland
and the Art Institute in Chicago. In the late 1940s, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence
, Italy
; his teacher, the Expressionist painter Oskar Kokoschka, was to have a lasting influence on Embry's work.
During his adolescent years in the Chicago
area, Embry developed a keen interest in avant-garde literature, music and art. In 1947 Embry decided to devote his life to painting and, for the next 15 years until the early 1960s, embarked on a nomadic artistic career which would take him from San Francisco to New York
, to post-war Europe, as well as Turkey and North Africa.
Amongst the countries in Europe where he took up temporary residence were Italy
, France
, Germany
, Spain
, England
and Sweden
. It was the Mediterranean culture and climate that struck a chord with his heart and his artistic imagination, and in particular, Greece
where he returned frequently.
Throughout much of his life, Embry suffered from severe bouts of mental illness. In the mid-1960s, after having sought medical treatment at the Shepphard Pratt Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, he made that city his permanent residence. He continued to live and paint in Baltimore until the last weeks of his life.
After a series of strokes, he died February 17, 1981 and was buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.
Following Embry's death, the copyright to his works went to his sister and sole heir, Betty Embry Williams. Subsequently she passed the copyright to her son and daughter, Warren Wilmot Williams and Lucy Williams Morin.
In the late 1990s, the heirs to the Norris Embry Estate donated the copyright to a trust which is mandated to protect and promote the copyright worldwide. The copyright is administered by the British-based company Norris Embry Artworks Collection Ltd, of which Warren Wilmot Williams is the managing director. In the early 2000s the heirs commissioned a website, www.norrisembry.com, to commemorate their uncle. The website is an ever-growing resource on the life and works of Norris Embry, and a visual showcase for many of Embry's most outstanding artworks drawn from public and private collections throughout the world.
Amongst the painters he acknowledged as being a great influence (apart from his teacher Kokoschka) were : Jean Dubuffet
, Paul Klee
, Joan Miró
, Jackson Pollock
, Emil Nolde
, Max Beckmann
, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
, Egon Schiele
, Georges Rouault
and Wols
. Another unexpected influence, the writer and illustrator James Thurber
, can be seen particularly in Embry's whimsical cartoon-like monotypes that he produced throughout his career. The graffiti
that fills much of his work records autobiographical details of his Life.
From the late 1950s until his death, Embry's work was exhibited regularly in New York and other cities in the United States and Europe.
Neo-expressionism
Neo-expressionism is a style of modern painting and sculpture that emerged in the late 1970s and dominated the art market until the mid-1980s...
artist born on January 14, 1921 in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
.
He grew up in East Orange, New Jersey
East Orange, New Jersey
East Orange is a city in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the city's population 64,270, making it the state's 20th largest municipality, having dropped 5,554 residents from its population of 69,824 in the 2000 Census, when it was the state's 14th most...
outside 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...
and Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
in the 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...
area, attending public schools through high school. Later, he studied at St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
and the Art Institute in Chicago. In the late 1940s, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
; his teacher, the Expressionist painter Oskar Kokoschka, was to have a lasting influence on Embry's work.
During his adolescent years in the 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...
area, Embry developed a keen interest in avant-garde literature, music and art. In 1947 Embry decided to devote his life to painting and, for the next 15 years until the early 1960s, embarked on a nomadic artistic career which would take him from San Francisco to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, to post-war Europe, as well as Turkey and North Africa.
Amongst the countries in Europe where he took up temporary residence were Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. It was the Mediterranean culture and climate that struck a chord with his heart and his artistic imagination, and in particular, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
where he returned frequently.
Throughout much of his life, Embry suffered from severe bouts of mental illness. In the mid-1960s, after having sought medical treatment at the Shepphard Pratt Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, he made that city his permanent residence. He continued to live and paint in Baltimore until the last weeks of his life.
After a series of strokes, he died February 17, 1981 and was buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.
Following Embry's death, the copyright to his works went to his sister and sole heir, Betty Embry Williams. Subsequently she passed the copyright to her son and daughter, Warren Wilmot Williams and Lucy Williams Morin.
In the late 1990s, the heirs to the Norris Embry Estate donated the copyright to a trust which is mandated to protect and promote the copyright worldwide. The copyright is administered by the British-based company Norris Embry Artworks Collection Ltd, of which Warren Wilmot Williams is the managing director. In the early 2000s the heirs commissioned a website, www.norrisembry.com, to commemorate their uncle. The website is an ever-growing resource on the life and works of Norris Embry, and a visual showcase for many of Embry's most outstanding artworks drawn from public and private collections throughout the world.
Work
Norris Embry's work stands outside both conventional and commercial appreciation, although he has been referred to as the first American German Expressionist.Amongst the painters he acknowledged as being a great influence (apart from his teacher Kokoschka) were : Jean Dubuffet
Jean Dubuffet
Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet was a French painter and sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a more authentic and humanistic approach to image-making.-Life and work:Dubuffet was...
, Paul Klee
Paul Klee
Paul Klee was born in Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland, and is considered both a German and a Swiss painter. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. He was, as well, a student of orientalism...
, Joan 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...
, Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
, Emil Nolde
Emil Nolde
Emil Nolde was a German painter and printmaker. He was one of the first Expressionists, a member of Die Brücke, and is considered to be one of the great oil painting and watercolour painters of the 20th century. He is known for his vigorous brushwork and expressive choice of colors...
, Max Beckmann
Max Beckmann
Max Beckmann was a German painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the movement...
, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was a German expressionist painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expressionism in 20th century art. He volunteered for army service in the First World War, but soon suffered a...
, Egon Schiele
Egon Schiele
Egon Schiele was an Austrian painter. A protégé of Gustav Klimt, Schiele was a major figurative painter of the early 20th century. His work is noted for its intensity, and the many self-portraits the artist produced...
, Georges Rouault
Georges Rouault
Georges Henri Rouault[p] was a French Fauvist and Expressionist painter, and printmaker in lithography and etching.-Childhood and education:Rouault was born in Paris into a poor family...
and Wols
Wols
Wols was the pseudonym of Alfred Otto Wolfgang Schulze , a German painter and photographer predominantly active in France....
. Another unexpected influence, the writer and illustrator James Thurber
James Thurber
James Grover Thurber was an American author, cartoonist and celebrated wit. Thurber was best known for his cartoons and short stories published in The New Yorker magazine.-Life:...
, can be seen particularly in Embry's whimsical cartoon-like monotypes that he produced throughout his career. The graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
that fills much of his work records autobiographical details of his Life.
From the late 1950s until his death, Embry's work was exhibited regularly in New York and other cities in the United States and Europe.
Public collections
- Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C.
- Solomon R. Guggenheim MuseumSolomon R. Guggenheim MuseumThe Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
, New York, NY - Baltimore Museum of ArtBaltimore Museum of ArtThe Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, was founded in 1914. Built in the Roman Temple style, the Museum is home to an internationally renowned collection of 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art. Founded in 1914 with a single painting, the BMA today has 90,000 works...
, Baltimore, MD - The Newark Museum, Newark, NY
- Speed Art MuseumSpeed Art MuseumThe Speed Art Museum, originally known as the J.B. Speed Memorial Museum, now colloquially referred to as the Speed by locals, is the oldest, largest, and foremost museum of art in Kentucky...
, Louisville, KY - The University of Kentucky Art Museum, Lexington, KY
- Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, NY
- The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR