Edith Dimock (February 16, 1876 – October 28, 1955) was an American painter. Her work was exhibited at the 1913
Armory Show
The 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was a show organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors in 1913. It was the first large exhibition of modern art in America, as well as one of ...
in New York. She married fellow artist,
William Glackens
William James Glackens (March 13, 1870 – May 22, 1938) was an American realist painter and one of the founders of the Ashcan School, which rejected the formal boundaries of artistic beauty laid-down by the conservative National Academy of De ...
, but continued to use her maiden name professionally after the marriage.
Personal life
Dimock was born in 1876 in
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
.
She was given the nickname of "Teed", and was the daughter of Ira Dimock, a silk merchant based in Connecticut, and older sister of Stanley, Harold Edwin and Florence Irene Dimock (1889–1962). Dimock developed an interest in art in her childhood and began her education in art in New York in her 20s against the wishes of her parents.
On February 16, 1904 she married painter
William Glackens
William James Glackens (March 13, 1870 – May 22, 1938) was an American realist painter and one of the founders of the Ashcan School, which rejected the formal boundaries of artistic beauty laid-down by the conservative National Academy of De ...
in her family's
Vanderbilt Hill mansion,
originally built for
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...
.
File:Edith Dimock's childhood home, Vanderbilt Hill. Built in 1879, razed in 1920.jpg, Ira Dimock's house on Vanderbilt Hill, Hartford, Connecticut where Edith Dimock was raised and married (built in 1879, razed in 1920)
File:William Glackens, The Shoppers.jpg, William Glackens
William James Glackens (March 13, 1870 – May 22, 1938) was an American realist painter and one of the founders of the Ashcan School, which rejected the formal boundaries of artistic beauty laid-down by the conservative National Academy of De ...
, ''The Shoppers'' (1907–8; Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia). The central figure is Edith Dimock.
As a wedding present,
Robert Henri
Robert Henri (; June 24, 1865 – July 12, 1929) was an American painter and teacher.
As a young man, he studied in Paris, where he identified strongly with the Impressionists, and determined to lead an even more dramatic revolt against A ...
painted portraits of the bride and groom. Edith's portrait was started in 1902. In it, she was described as "still a demure socialite from Hartford" by author Bennard Perlman.
[Marian Wardle. ]
American Women Modernists: The Legacy of Robert Henri, 1910-1945
'. Rutgers University Press; 2005. . p. 101. Until they could find a larger place, they first lived in a one-room apartment in the Sherman Building in
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 ...
.
[Bennard B. Perlman]
''The Immortal Eight; American Painting from Eakins to the Armory Show (1870-1913).''
New York: Exposition Press, 1962. p. 130. They then lived at 3
Washington Square North. Following the marriage, "she devoted her time and energies to her family."
[Petteys, Chris, ''Dictionary of Women Artists: An international dictionary of women artists born before 1900'', G.K. Hall & Co, Boston, Ma, 1985] Their son Ira, born in 1907, was a writer who wrote two books about his father. In 1913 Dimock gave birth to their daughter, Lenna,
[Ann Lee Morgan Former Visiting Assistant Professor University of Illinois at Chicago. ]
The Oxford Dictionary of American Art and Artists
'. Oxford University Press; 27 June 2007. . p. 181. an artist. Lenna and Edith were favored models for William Glackens.
[''All in the Family Paintings and Works on Paper by Members of the Glackens Family.'']
ArtSlant Miami. Retrieved April 28, 2014. From 1911 to 1917, Dimock and her family spent the summers at
Belport on Long Island, where her husband, William Glackens, painted beach scenes.
Artists and good friends
May Preston and
James Moore Preston
James Moore Preston (1873–1962) was an American painter and illustrator, married to fellow artist May Wilson Preston. He was one of the Ashcan School, along with his friend, William Glackens.
Early life
James Moore Preston was born in Roxborough ...
often spent the summers there and traveled with the Glackens to Europe.
Dimock was an honorary secretary of the
National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies
The National Union of Women Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the ''suffragists'' (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation founded in 1897 of women's suffrage societies around the United Kingdom. In 1919 it was ren ...
in 1911 and 1915. In 1913 she marched in the large suffrage parade in New York, along with a group of other artists.
Her husband died in 1938. Dimock died October 28, 1955 at her home in Hartford.
Career
She studied at the
Art Students League
The Art Students League of New York is an art school at American Fine Arts Society, 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists ...
between 1895 and 1899
with
William Merritt Chase
William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons School of Design. ...
. Dimock described her classes at the Art Students League:
She then studied with Chase at the
New York School of Art
Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatt ...
.
She shared a studio in the Sherwood building,
and artist's cooperative building on 57th Street in Manhattan,
[Carol Clark. ]
American Drawings and Watercolors
'. Metropolitan Museum of Art; 1992. . p. 168. with
May Preston and another artist. The three women held weekly open houses and became known as the lively "Sherwood Sisters". The women gathered with male artists from the
Ashcan School
The Ashcan School, also called the Ash Can School, was an artistic movement in the United States during the late 19th-early 20th century that produced works portraying scenes of daily life in New York, often in the city's poorer neighborhoods.
...
, including William Glackens and James Moore Preston, at Mouquin's and Cafe Francis.
[Kirsten Swinth. ]
Painting Professionals: Women Artists & the Development of Modern American Art, 1870-1930
'. UNC Press Books; 2001. . p. 175, 256. Following her marriage in 1904, Dimock continued to sign her works using her maiden name.
In 1904 her works were shown at the American Water Color Society exhibition:
She made watercolor genre scenes "though charming, often displayed a caustic sense of humor."
She illustrated Grace Van Rensselaer Dwight's children's book of nine short stories, ''The yellow cat and her friends'' which was published in 1905 and Kate Forrest Oswell's ''Stories Grandmother Told,'' which was published in 1912.
Her works were shown in 1908 with seven other painters at the Macbeth Galleries at the
Ashcan School
The Ashcan School, also called the Ash Can School, was an artistic movement in the United States during the late 19th-early 20th century that produced works portraying scenes of daily life in New York, often in the city's poorer neighborhoods.
...
. Dimock exhibited at the New York
Armory Show
The 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was a show organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors in 1913. It was the first large exhibition of modern art in America, as well as one of ...
of 1913, where she showed 8 works, ''Sweat Shop Girls in the Country, Mother and Daughter'', and six paintings, all entitled ''Group''.
File:Edith Dimock, Sweat Shop Girls, 1913 Armory.jpg, ''Sweat Shop Girls in the Country,'' ca. 1913. Watercolor, gouache, and charcoal on paper
File:Edith Dimock, Three Women, 1913 Armory.jpg, ''Three Women,'' ca. 1913. Watercolor, gouache, and charcoal on paper
File:Edith Dimock, Florist, 1913 Armory.jpg, ''Florist,'' ca. 1913. Watercolor, gouache, and charcoal on paper
File:Edith Dimock Group Bridal Shop.jpg, ''Bridal Shop,'' ca. 1913, watercolor, gouache, and charcoal on paper
File:Edith Dimock Group Fine Fruits.jpg, ''Fine Fruits,'' ca. 1913, watercolor, gouache, and charcoal on paper
File:Edith Dimock Mother and Daughter.jpg, ''Mother and Daughter,'' ca. 1913, watercolor, gouache, and charcoal on paper
In 1928 her watercolor Contemporary portraits were shown with Beaulah Stevenson's at the Whitney Studio Club and were then part of a traveling show to the
Art Students League
The Art Students League of New York is an art school at American Fine Arts Society, 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists ...
in New York,
Fogg Museum of Art
The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...
,
Denver Art Museum
The Denver Art Museum (DAM) is an art museum located in the Civic Center of Denver, Colorado. With encyclopedic collections of more than 70,000 diverse works from across the centuries and world, the DAM is one of the largest art museums between t ...
,
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...
, the
California Palace of the Legion of Honor
The Legion of Honor, formally known as the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, is an art museum in San Francisco, California. Located in Lincoln Park, the Legion of Honor is a component of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, which also ...
in San Francisco, and the Arts and Crafts Club in New Orleans. The Whitney Studio Club, led by women patrons, held a solo exhibition of Dimock's work.
[Kathleen D. McCarthy. ]
Women's Culture: American Philanthropy and Art, 1830-1930
'. University of Chicago Press; 1991. . p. 236.[Patricia Bradley. ]
Making American Culture
'. Palgrave Macmillan; 15 September 2009. . p. 108.
See also
*
List of artists in the Armory Show
The 1913 Armory Show contained approximately 1300 works by 300 artists. Many of the original works have been lost and some of the artists have been forgotten. The list of artists in the Armory Show, while not complete, includes nearly all the art ...
*
List of women artists in the Armory Show
The list of women artists in the Armory Show attempts to include women artists from the United States and Europe who were exhibited in the Armory Show of 1913. The show contained approximately 1300 works by 300 artists. A high proportion of the ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dimock, Edith
American women painters
1876 births
1955 deaths
Artists from Hartford, Connecticut
Painters from Connecticut
20th-century American painters
20th-century American women artists
Art Students League of New York alumni