Annemarie Davidson (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Behrendt) (1920-September 24, 2012) was a German-born American copper enamel artist. Davidson was known for her Southern Californian modernist freeform abstract copper enamels and was influenced by noted enamelists Curtis Tann, Doris Hall, and Mary Sharp. Davidson "is responsible for some of the finest enamels in the second half of the 20th Century."

History

Annemarie Davidson was born Annemarie Behrendt in 1920 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Germany. Davidson came to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

with her family in 1936. Davidson, studied economics, receiving her bachelor's degree from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

in 1941, and was awarded her master's degree at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1942. In 1942, Davidson married Norman Davidson, a chemist and molecular biologist. The Davidsons moved to

Sierra Madre, California Sierra Madre (Spanish for "mother range") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, whose population was 10,917 at the 2010 U.S. Census, up from 10,580 at the time of the 2000 U.S. Census. The city is in the foothills of the San Gabriel Vall ...

in 1946 where Norman Davidson was Caltech professor and a pioneering scientist in the field of microbiology. While Davidson's husband was at Harvard in 1957, she studied with enamelist Doris Hall in Cambridge. Returning to Sierra Madre in 1958, Davidson continued studying with the African American enamelist Curtis Tann. Davidson became a friend of Los Angeles–based enamelist Mary Sharp. Influenced by Hall, Tann and to some extent Sharp, Davidson's enamels were brightly colored and abstract. Davidson would use glass fragments, which she referred to as "jewels" in her work which would become part of the enamel, giving her work a distinctive freeform sculptural style. Davidson produced a variety of copper enameled plates and bowls in various sizes, along with copper enamel tile to be used as inlays for boxes and furniture. Her work was sold by "leading gift and furniture stores throughout the country." Davidson often collaborated with artist Blaine Rath. Davidson's enamels would be mounted in boxes and other decorative objects made from walnut, maple and rosewood crafted by Rath. Annemarie Davidson died September 24, 2012 in Sierra Madre.

Exhibitions

* International Exhibit in New Delhi, India * Decorative Arts and Ceramics Exhibition at the Wichita Art Association in 1958 * California Design exhibitions at the

Pasadena Art Museum The Norton Simon Museum is an art museum located in Pasadena, California, United States. It was previously known as the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum and displays numerous sculptures on its grounds. Overview The Norton Sim ...

1961, 1962, and 1965 *

Long Beach Museum of Art The Long Beach Museum of Art is a museum located on Ocean Boulevard in the Bluff Park neighborhood of Long Beach, California, United States. The museum's permanent collection includes over 4,000 paintings, drawings, sculptures, works on paper, a ...

2007 *

Mobile Museum of Art The Mobile Museum of Art (MMofA) is an art museum located in Mobile, Alabama. It features extensive art collections from the United States, Europe, and non-western art. The museum hosts exhibitions, multi-disciplinary programs (including film, po ...

2008 *

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...

2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Annemarie 1920 births 2012 deaths 20th-century enamellers American enamelers Women enamellers Artists from Berlin People from Sierra Madre, California German emigrants to the United States