Gertrude Glass Greene (1904 – November 25, 1956) was an
abstract sculptor and painter from New York City. Gertrude and her husband, artist
Balcomb Greene
Balcomb Greene (1904–1990) was an American artist and teacher. He and his wife, artist Gertrude Glass Greene, were heavily involved in political activism to promote mainstream acceptance of abstract art and were founding members of the Am ...
, were heavily involved in political activism to promote mainstream acceptance of abstract art. They were founding members of the
American Abstract Artists
American Abstract Artists (AAA) was formed in 1936 in New York City, to promote and foster public understanding of abstract art. American Abstract Artists exhibitions, publications, and lectures helped to establish the organization as a major fo ...
organization.
Family life
Gertrude Glass was the daughter of Siegfried and Berta Glass who owned a department store in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York. After completing high school, Gertrude went to evening sculpture classes at the Leonardo da Vinci Art School in New York City where she met other students who were interested in the new abstract style of art.
Glass married Balcomb Greene
Balcomb Greene (1904–1990) was an American artist and teacher. He and his wife, artist Gertrude Glass Greene, were heavily involved in political activism to promote mainstream acceptance of abstract art and were founding members of the Am ...
in 1926 after he graduated from Syracuse University, and traveled with him to Vienna
en, Viennese
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, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, Austria, where he pursued graduate studies in psychology. The couple moved back to New York in 1927 where Balcomb attended 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 ...
to study for a master's degree in English literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
, while she continued study sculpture. Balcomb moved to Hanover, New Hampshire
Hanover is a town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university Dartmouth College, the U.S. Army Corps of Eng ...
where he taught literature from 1928 to 1931 at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
. Initially, Gertrude joined Balcomb in New Hampshire where she had a sculpture studio. But she preferred living in New York so left New Hampshire without Balcomb. After he quit teaching at Dartmouth, the couple traveled to Paris, France, for a year where for the only time during their marriage they shared a studio.
Artist
Greene was one of the earliest American artists, possibly the first, to produce non-objective relief sculptures in the early 1930s.[ She synthesized Cubist and Russian Constructivists themes into her work. By the 1940s, her work showed her interest in Mondrian and Neo-Plasticism. She produced her last sculpture in 1946 and for the rest of life she concentrated on abstract painting.][ Nonetheless, her paintings never completely lost a "sense of architectural structure".][Jacqueline Moss, "Gertrude Greene: Constructions of the 1930s and 1940s", '']Arts Magazine
''Arts Magazine'' was a prominent monthly magazine devoted to fine art. It was established in 1926 and last published in 1992.
History Early years
Launched in 1926 and originally titled ''The Art Digest,'' it was printed semi-monthly from Octobe ...
'' (April 1981), p. 126
Grace Borgenicht Gallery had the first solo exhibition of her work in 1951, and another was held at the Bertha Schaefer Gallery
Bertha Schaefer (1895–1971) was an American designer and gallery director, she was known for her furniture designs, and as an interior designer.
Biography
Schaefer was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1895. Her father Emil Schaefer was a ref ...
in 1955. A painting of Greene's was chosen for the cover of ''Arts Magazine
''Arts Magazine'' was a prominent monthly magazine devoted to fine art. It was established in 1926 and last published in 1992.
History Early years
Launched in 1926 and originally titled ''The Art Digest,'' it was printed semi-monthly from Octobe ...
'' in April 1982, which featured an article about Greene's paintings, written by Jacqueline Moss
Jacqueline Moss (1927–2005) was an American art historian, lecturer, writer and art critic. She was the curator of education at the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art (since renamed) and lectured widely on modern and 20th-century art. Her arti ...
. There was a retrospective of her work at ACA Gallery in 1982. Greene's work can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
in New York, the Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...
, the Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...
, and the Berkshire Museum
__NOTOC__
The Berkshire Museum is a museum of art, natural history, and ancient civilization that is located in Pittsfield in Berkshire County, Massachusetts ( United States).
History
The Berkshire Museum, founded by local paper magnate Zenas ...
.[
]
Political activism
Greene supported many liberal political causes affecting artists. She "encouraged the formation of WPA programs to help struggling artists" and was "an active member of the Federation of Painters and Sculptors, the Artists' Union, and a founding member of American Abstract Artists
American Abstract Artists (AAA) was formed in 1936 in New York City, to promote and foster public understanding of abstract art. American Abstract Artists exhibitions, publications, and lectures helped to establish the organization as a major fo ...
."[ Gertrude worked as a gallery attendant at the AAA's first annual exhibition, and was the group's first paid employee. The Greenes were active with the AAA committees, and worked to gain acceptance of abstract art by picketing museums that did not feature works of abstract artist.][ ]Lee Krasner
Lenore "Lee" Krasner (born Lena Krassner; October 27, 1908 – June 19, 1984) was an American abstract expressionist painter, with a strong speciality in collage. She was married to Jackson Pollock. Although there was much cross-pollination betw ...
called Greene an "up front" person and said she was one of the most active members of the AAA.[Jacqueline Moss, "Gertrude Greene: Constructions of the 1930s and 1940s", '']Arts Magazine
''Arts Magazine'' was a prominent monthly magazine devoted to fine art. It was established in 1926 and last published in 1992.
History Early years
Launched in 1926 and originally titled ''The Art Digest,'' it was printed semi-monthly from Octobe ...
'' (April 1981), p. 124
Death
Her health rapidly deteriorated and on November 25, 1956, Gertrude died at a New York City hospital of cancer.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Gertrude
Abstract sculptors
Abstract painters
Sculptors from New York (state)
People of the New Deal arts projects
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
1904 births
1956 deaths
20th-century American sculptors
20th-century American women artists