Florence Ballin Cramer (1877–1971) was an American modernist artist known for her landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and nudes, each tending to have what one close observer called "a clearly expressed a mood or attitude as well as presenting an easily recognizable subject". Describing a retrospective exhibition in 1957, a curator said her paintings were "characterized by a pervasive impressionism which ranges from color-wrought realism to gentle abstraction." Augmenting her career as professional artist, Cramer established and directed an art gallery on 57th Street in Manhattan that was devoted to showing works by young artists and for many years she ran a shop in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...

that sold antiques and books. During the early part of her adult life, she divided her time between Manhattan and Woodstock and later lived year-round in Woodstock. After her death, a friend, author Frank Leon Smith, said she had found in Woodstock "just the right place and at precisely the right time for her gifts and talents."

Early life and training

Cramer was born and raised in New York City. Her art instruction began when she was eleven. In 1894, Cramer's widowed mother, Adelaide Ballin, took her and her younger brother to Europe for several years. There, along with

The three Rs The three Rs (as in the letter ''R'') are three basic skills taught in schools: reading, writing and arithmetic (usually said as "reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic"). The phrase appears to have been coined at the beginning of the 19th century. Th ...

, she received art instruction from a tutor whom her widowed mother had hired. After the family returned to New York, Cramer finished high school and, in 1902, began study 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 ...

. Among her teachers there were the American impressionist painter

Frank Vincent DuMond Frank Vincent DuMond (August 20, 1865 – February 6, 1951) was one of the most influential teacher-painters in 20th-century America. He was an illustrator and American Impressionist painter of portraits and landscapes, and a prominent teach ...

and the illustrator

Frederick Coffay Yohn Frederick Coffay Yohn (February 8, 1875 – June 5 or 6, 1933), often recognized only by his initials, F. C. Yohn, was an American artist and magazine illustrator. Background Yohn's work appeared in publications including ''Scribner's Magazine' ...

. Cramer's long association with the art colony in

, began in 1909 when she took painting classes from

Birge Harrison Lovell Birge Harrison (October 28, 1854, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – 1929) was an American genre and landscape painter, teacher, and writer. He was a prominent practitioner and advocate of Tonalism. Life Born in Philadelphia, Birge Harrison w ...

and John Carlson at the League's summer landscape school in that town. During these years, her fellow students included Hermine Kleinert,

Henry Lee McFee Henry Lee McFee (April 14, 1886 – March 19, 1953) was a pioneer American cubist painter and a prominent member of the Woodstock artists colony. Biography McFee was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1886. From 1902 to 1905, he attended Kemper Mil ...

, Grace Mott Johnson, and

Andrew Dasburg Andrew Michael Dasburg (4 May 1887 – 13 August 1979) was an American modernist painter and "one of America's leading early exponents of cubism". Biography Dasburg was born in 1887 in Paris. He emigrated from Germany to New York City with ...

. In 1910, she returned to Europe to visit museums and galleries and to meet with artists in their studios. While in Munich, she met and fell in love with the artist, Konrad Cramer. A year later the two of them married in a London registry office and, on returning to the United States, began spending the warm half of the year in Woodstock and the cooler half in New York.

Career in art

One source claims that while she was still a child and traveling in Europe with her family, Cramer submitted a drawing in a contest held by the Herald Tribune and was awarded a silver medal for it. The

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. His ...

European Edition was probably meant since the

Herald Tribune ''Herald'' or ''The Herald'' is the name of various newspapers. ''Herald'' or ''The Herald'' Australia * The Herald (Adelaide), ''The Herald'' (Adelaide) and several similar names (1894–1924), a South Australian Labor weekly, then daily * ''Ba ...

did not then exist. In 1907, she held her first public exhibition in her studio at 30 West 59th Street in Manhattan. Two years later, she showed paintings along with other members of the Woman's Art Club at Knoedler's Gallery in Manhattan. She continued to exhibit with this group over the next few years. A critic for the

Brooklyn Daily Eagle :''This article covers both the historical newspaper (1841–1955, 1960–1963), as well as an unrelated new Brooklyn Daily Eagle starting 1996 published currently'' The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''King ...

praised work in the 1909 show as "distinguished for careful handling" and called Cramer's painting, "The Hill Road", "an honest work, thoroughly done." A critic for the New York Times said her painting called "Margot" in the 1910 show contained "some charming drawing and tells at a distance fairly well, but the delicacy with which the profile is modeled is somewhat sacrificed by the lack of delicacy in the relation between the figure and the background." In 1917, she exhibited with the

Society of Independent Artists Society of Independent Artists was an association of American artists founded in 1916 and based in New York. Background Based on the French Société des Artistes Indépendants, the goal of the society was to hold annual exhibitions by avant-gard ...

and a few years later was one of the modernists in Woodstock who were said to have displaced the traditionalists in an exhibition held by the Woodstock Artists' Association. In 1922, now living year-round in Woodstock, raising her two daughters, and engaged in two business ventures, Cramer began a life-long practice of participating in exhibitions held by the Woodstock Artists' Association, to which she belonged. The exhibition caused commotion locally as she and other young Woodstock artists were said to have taken over the association so as to display their "extreme work". A year later she was credited with reviving an old tradition when she showed an embroidered landscape at the Woodstock gallery. Eight years later, her work again appeared in a New York gallery; this time at Marie Harriman's in a group exhibition with other young American artists. Reviewing this show,

Edward Alden Jewell Edward Alden Jewell (March 10, 1888 – October 11, 1947) was an American newspaper and magazine editor, art critic and novelist. He was the New York Times art editor from July 1936 until his death. Early life Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, E ...

of the ''New York Times'' credited her with "an appreciation of the sensuous appeal residing in paint itself" and said that in one of her paintings, "Boat Landing", she achieved "really bewitching phrases". Summarizing her work, he wrote: "Here is verse that considerably more than scans." In reviewing the show, the ''Chicago Evening Post'' printed a photo of "Boat Landing" and a critic for the ''Times Union'' of Brooklyn said she and two other artists in the show had produced paintings that were "stunning expositions of the American landscape and which have also individual strength and pictorial value." Cramer's other shows in 1931 included a traveling exhibition sponsored by the

College Art Association The College Art Association of America (CAA) is the principal organization in the United States for professionals in the visual arts, from students to art historians to emeritus faculty. Founded in 1911, it "promotes these arts and their understa ...

, that year's

Carnegie International The Carnegie International is a North American exhibition of contemporary art from around the globe. It was first organized at the behest of industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie on November 5, 1896 in Pittsburgh. Carnegie established th ...

, and Marie Harriman's Christmas exhibition. The following year, she contributed paintings to the Whitney Biennial, another College Art Association traveling show, and a group exhibition at the Worcester Art Museum. In November 1932, Cramer was given a solo exhibition at the Warwick Galleries in Philadelphia. A critic for the ''Philadelphia Public Register'' noted that artists such as Cramer, who gathered in a small geographic area would naturally take inspiration both from each other's work and from the locale itself. The critic said Cramer showed these influences but possessed nonetheless "a flavor of her own." The critic added, "There are two distinct moods in these landscapes: one bold and rural; the other subtle and sensitive, and it is these two moods, coupled with a nice feeling for still-life decoration, that render Mrs. Cramer's exhibition so varied." During the middle years of the 1930s, Cramer participated frequently in group shows at New York galleries. These included the

Whitney Whitney may refer to: Film and television * ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta * ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston * ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that premiered i ...

, Marie Harriman's, Macy's and Wanamaker's, the

Corcoran Corcoran is an Irish surname, the original Irish language form being meaning 'descendant of Corcrán'. The name itself is derived from meaning 'purple'. History The name Corcoran is an anglicisation of the names of two Gaelic clans. The f ...

, and the

Pennsylvania Academy The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Writing in the ''New York Evening Post'', Margaret Breuning said that Cramer's paintings in the 1935 Marie Harriman show had "distinction and charm." At this time, she also continued to show work in Woodstock and in 1936 was given a solo exhibition at the

Albany Institute of History and Art The Albany Institute of History & Art (AIHA) is a museum in Albany, New York, United States, "dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting and promoting interest in the history, art, and culture of Albany and the Upper Hudson Valley region". ...

. A broad survey of American art edited by

Holger Cahill Edgar Holger Cahill (January 13, 1887 – July 8, 1960) was an Icelandic-American curator, writer, and arts administrator who served as the national director of the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration during the New Deal in t ...

and

Alfred H. Barr Jr. Alfred Hamilton Barr Jr. (January 28, 1902 – August 15, 1981) was an American art historian and the first director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. From that position, he was one of the most influential forces in the development of ...

and published in 1935 listed Cramer as a contemporary painter who was producing valuable work. Cramer continued to exhibit in Woodstock during the late 1930s and early 1940s and in 1945 was given a solo exhibition at the Rudolph Galleries in that town. Providing, as a critic noted, an opportunity to evaluate her painting career, the show contained a broad cross section of Cramer's work including still lifes, flowers, landscapes, portraits, and nudes. Calling the paintings, "compact in design and powerful in color", the critic praised Cramer's "fine and sensitive style,

n which N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

clarity and constructive vigor are exceptional." Another critic observed "distinguished painting, technically fluid and with warm poetic vision" in the works on display and said "Mrs. Cramer has a strong rich palette, even the blacks have a penetrating glow and her sensitive rusty reds and tawny yellows weave exquisite color design with the brilliant use of grays." Reviewing another solo exhibition, held in 1953 in another Woodstock gallery, a critic called Cramer, "a painter of great facility with an unusual approach to each of her subjects, equally at home in landscapes, portraits and still lifes." Along with a continuing presence in group exhibitions at Woodstock galleries, Cramer had one last solo show during her life, a collection of fifty paintings, including landscapes, portraits, still lifes, and nudes, which appeared in the Brooklyn campus of

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LIU ...

in 1957. In 1968, the Woodstock Artists Association mounted a memorial exhibition to Cramer and her husband, Karl. In the announcement of the show, Woodstock artist

Arnold Blanch Arnold Blanch (June 4, 1896 – October 3, 1968), was born and raised in Mantorville, Minnesota. He was an American modernism, American modernist painter, etcher, illustrator, lithographer, muralist, printmaker and art teacher. Life His modern ...

said "Florence Cramer's paintings reflect her love of people and the things of this world. Many of them have found their way into numerous museums and private collections." Five years later the Woodstock School of Art establish a Florence Ballin Cramer memorial scholarship to provide a student a full summer's tuition annually.

Artistic style

In the early 1920s, along with other Woodstock modernists such as

George Bellows George Wesley Bellows (August 12 or August 19, 1882 – January 8, 1925) was an American realism, American realist painting, painter, known for his bold depictions of urban life in New York City. He became, according to the Columbus Museum of Art ...

Eugene Speicher Eugene (Edward) Speicher NA (April 5, 1883 – May 11, 1962) was an American portrait, landscape, and figurative painter. He was one of the foremost realists of his generation who closely upheld the mantle of his mentor, Robert Henri. Biography ...

, and

Leon Kroll Leon Kroll (December 6, 1884 – October 25, 1974) was an American painter and lithographer. A figurative artist described by ''Life'' magazine as "the dean of U.S. nude painters", he was also a landscape painter and also produced an exceptional ...

, Conrad began painting what one source calls "site-specific landscapes" that clearly expressed a mood or attitude as well as presenting an easily recognizable subject. Soon thereafter, with

Alexander Brook Alexander Brook (July 14, 1898 – February 26, 1980) was an American artist, teacher, and art critic, known for his paintings. He was active from 1910 until 1966. Biography Brook was born in Brooklyn, New York on July 14, 1898, to a Russian f ...

, and

, she painted still lifes, portraits, and nudes in what this source called "Woodstock's studio movement". The style she adopted in these early years persisted throughout her career. She worked mostly in oil on canvas and less often in gouache on paper. Cramer's landscape technique can be seen in the images from 1909 ("Lasher House", no. 1, above) and 1945 ("Chicken House in Spring", no. 4, above). It can also be seen in the contrast between her painting of the place where they lived and her husband's photograph of the same seen (no. 5 and no. 6 above). An example of her handling of nude portraits can be seen in "Reclining Nude" (no. 2, above). An example of her handling of still lifes can be seen in "Still Life with Theatrical Masks" (no. 3, above). Her handling of portraits can be seen in the self portrait shown at top. In the mid-1920s, Cramer joined other Woodstock artists in a third major trend: an appreciation of American folk art. With her husband, she collected furniture, fabrics, and other products. She decorated and resold some of these in her shop. She also produced folk art, including, for example, a needlework landscape that she made in 1923. Reviewing an exhibition of 1932, a critic discussed Cramer's expression of emotion and handling of color, writing: "What Mrs. Cramer gives us is an emotional reaction to the country in which she lives. Her palette, with its deep greens, red browns, grays, reds, orange, and white finds congenial subject matter in winter and fall landscapes, although it occasionally falls under the spell of spring and of deep green summertime." Another critic, writing in 1945, said Cramer's work was "distinguished painting, technically fluid and with warm poetic vision" and added, "Light shifts over solidly built-up form and her design is unconfused and fine." Commenting on a 1957 exhibition of fifty paintings produced in a span of fifty years, the show's curator said Cramer's work was "characterized by a pervasive impressionism which ranges from color-wrought realism to gentle abstraction."

Florence Gallery

In 1918, Cramer negotiated a lease for gallery space in a building at 40 West 57th Street in Manhattan. She opened the Florence Gallery in the fall of 1919 intending to show works by contemporary American artists whose opportunities to exhibit were then few and relatively insignificant. In her announcement of the new venture, she told prospective patrons: "I am opening a gallery, small, not pretentious, where I shall have on exhibition the work of a few modern artists many of whom are known, but because they are not conservative and not dead yet the public has been afraid to buy. These pictures will be offered to the public at very moderate sums because the artists being young have faith in their ability to create more work." In March 1920, a critic for the ''New York Globe'' described the artists whose work was then on view as "contemporary American painters of modernistic persuasion". Although she was able to maintain the gallery for not much more than a year, she was able to arrange sales of paintings by artists who would later become well known, including

Yasuo Kuniyoshi was a Japanese-American painter, photographer and printmaker. Biography Kuniyoshi was born on September 1, 1889 in Okayama, Japan. He immigrated to the United States in 1906, choosing not to attend military school in Japan. Kuniyoshi original ...

Ernest Fiene Ernest Fiene (November 2, 1894 – August 10, 1965) was a 20th-century American graphic artist who primarily worked in New York City and Woodstock, New York. Fiene was known primarily for his varied printed works, including lithographs and etchin ...

and

Stefan Hirsch Stefan Hirsch (January 2, 1899 – September 28, 1964) was an American artist. Many of his paintings have the hard edges, smooth surfaces, and simplified forms of the precisionists and their typical subjects—cityscapes and industrial scenes� ...

Antique and art book shop

In the mid-1920s, when Woodstock artists began to appreciate and emulate American folk art, Cramer and her husband began a business that aimed to provide artists with examples of furniture, fabrics and other folk artifacts. They began selling art books at a local summer market and soon afterward Cramer opened a shop in their home in which she sold art books, antique furniture and furnishings, antiques, and both old and modern art prints. Eventually, the shop expanded to include Indian jewelry, rugs and fabrics, original drawings, and various gift merchandise among its offerings. Cramer had previously begun an informal folk-like process of buying second hand furniture and then reconditioning and painting it for resale to collectors. She continued that practice after opening the shop, adding those artifacts to the store's merchandise.

Personal life and family

Cramer was born in Brooklyn on December 13, 1883. Her birth name was Florence Julia Ballin. Her parents were Jacob Ballin (1833-1887) and Adelaide Marx Ballin (1845-1922). Her father, who died when she was three, ran a successful manufacturing business. Born in Germany, he emigrated to New York and, aged 23 in 1856, began making and selling men's shirts in a business on Nassau Street in lower Manhattan. When his brother Moritz became his partner in 1877, the firm became known as Ballin Brothers and it survived under that name after Jacob's death and into the twentieth century. Cramer had two older brothers and four older and one younger sister, although only three of the six survived to become adults. After her father's death, her mother had sufficient income to support Cramer and her brother without having to work for a living. They were able to spend long periods traveling in Europe and during this time Cramer was able to become fluent in German. After she and her husband returned from Europe to the United States, they began dividing their time between summers in Woodstock and winters in Manhattan, but after the birth of their first daughter, Adelaide Margot (called Margot) in 1914 and their second, Aileen (called Skip) in 1917, they moved permanently to Woodstock. Cramer later explained that she was forced to "choose between my husband and my career" when he "announced that he didn't want to live in the city any more". "Naturally," she added, "we returned to Woodstock to live all year around." Because the young family could not survive on art sales made by Cramer and her husband, they turned to other ventures to supplement their income. Konrad Cramer began a textile design business and Florence Ballin Cramer embarked on two retail enterprises, first expanding the informal antiques business she had begun some years earlier and second opening the Florence Gallery in Manhattan. After the Cramers began living in Woodstock year-round, they bought a pre-Revolutionary house in a part of town called Bearsville flats and it was there that Cramer operated her antiques-and-art-books shop. As one source notes, "The Cramers were deeply immersed in Woodstock life, participating in the annual Maverick festivals, the Woodstock Artists Association, the Historical Society, and other organizations, hosting meetings and serving as officers of many committees and organizations that presented and supported artwork in their community. They enjoyed a rich social life there among fellow artists at frequent parties and festivals, where Konrad provided entertainment with his fiddle and both Cramers memorialized events in countless photographs." In 1939, Cramer was in an automobile accident in which she suffered a skull fracture and other serious injuries. Later called a "near-death" experience, the accident left her unconscious during the first two days of lengthy hospitalization. Cramer died in Woodstock on July 15, 1962.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cramer, Florence Ballin 1870s births 1962 deaths Artists from Brooklyn 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women artists American women painters Abstract painters Women in craft Nude art