Gertrude Tiemer Wille (March 4, 1897 – March 20, 1967) was an American painter, photographer, and poet. Tiemer achieved her greatest notoriety for inter-dimensional, multi-exposure photography.
Her paintings of
landscapes,
still lifes
A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, boo ...
, portraits, and other pieces adopted both the realist and abstract styles of art.
Tiemer exhibited her work at galleries in Maine, New York City, and other venues throughout the U.S. and internationally.
[ "More than 100 attended the tea Tuesday in the L. D. M. Sweat Memorial Art Museum to Open An Exhibit of Miss Gertrude Tiemer's Sea-formed Symbolism paintings."]
Early life and education
Tiemer was born to Paul Tiemer and Carrie Freeman Tiemer in
East Orange, New Jersey
East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...
in 1897. She graduated from the
Beard School (now Morristown-Beard School) in
Orange, New Jersey in 1915. During her studies at the school, she captured a photograph that made the Roll of Honor of ''
St. Nicholas Magazine
''St. Nicholas Magazine'' was a popular monthly American children's magazine, founded by Scribner's in 1873. The first editor was Mary Mapes Dodge, who continued her association with the magazine until her death in 1905. Dodge published work by th ...
'', a children's magazine, in 1913. She also had a drawing on the Roll of Honor of the magazine.
After high school, Tiemer studied at the
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 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.
Although artists may stu ...
, and she took art classes in
Rome, Italy
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
...
.
While living in Italy, Tiemer owned a studio in
Anticoli Corrado, a hill village populated by artists. She studied under
Maurice Sterne, a noted
Latvian American sculptor and painter. The
Archives of American Art at the
Smithsonian includes a photo of Sterne and his students, including Tiemer. She also studied under artist
Marsden Hartley, who painted using the
American Modernist style.
[ The Marsden Hartley Memorial Collection at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine includes his correspondence with Tiemer and writer Gertrude Stein.
]
Art exhibitions and poetry readings
Tiemer exhibited her artwork at galleries throughout Maine. She exhibited at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art
The Bowdoin College Museum of Art is an art museum located in Brunswick, Maine. Included on the National Register of Historic Places, the museum is located in a building on the campus of Bowdoin College designed by the architectural firm McKim, Me ...
in 1943 and at the L. D. M. Sweat Memorial Galleries
The L. D. M. Sweat Memorial Galleries are a series of art galleries that are part of the Portland Museum of Art, which is located in the Arts District of Portland, Maine.
History
The L. D. M. Sweat Memorial Galleries were built in 1911 by Maine a ...
at the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine in 1949.New York City metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...
. In 1927, she exhibited at a Whitney Studio Club, an exhibit space for emerging and avant-garde artists run by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. Tiemer exhibited at the Salons of America's show at the American Art Association - Anderson Galleries in New York City in 1931. Her 1939 exhibit at the American Women's Association at West 57th Street in Manhattan showed her paintings of chrysanthemums
Chrysanthemums (), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'' in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the center ...
. Tiemer also exhibited at the National Arts Club
The National Arts Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and members club on Gramercy Park, Manhattan, New York City. It was founded in 1898 by Charles DeKay, an art and literary critic of the ''New York Times'' to "stimulate, foster, and promote public ...
in Gramercy Park
Gramercy ParkSometimes misspelled as Grammercy () is the name of both a small, fenced-in private park and the surrounding neighborhood that is referred to also as Gramercy, in the New York City borough of Manhattan in New York, United States.
T ...
.
In 1940, Tiemer's sonnet "October Rose" won first prize in a poetry contest sponsored by the Manor Club in Pelham, New York. Her poem titled "Plum Tree" earned an honorable mention in the contest. Tiemer won second prize and earned four honorable mentions at the Manor club's 1939 literary contest. Founded as a men's club, the Manor Club is the oldest women's cultural club in Westchester County, New York. During the 1950s, Tiemer published her poetry in ''Voices: A Journal of Poetry''.
Collections with her work
Tiemer's photograph titled "Summer's Child" appears in a photography collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Taken on a beach, the chromogenic print depicts her granddaughter, Karen Adams.Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...
in Washington, D.C. contains a folder of Tiemer's work. The Stephen Merrill Photograph Collection at Bowdoin College contains a photograph of her taken at Cundy's Harbor in Harpswell, Maine.
Island home at Gabriel
Tiemer spent her winters in New York City and her summers at the family home called Gabriel on Dingley Island
Dingley Island is a small island in Casco Bay, not far from Brunswick, off the coast of Maine in the United States.
In the 1750s, the island was known as Bateman's Island, and later Indian Island. However, in 1788, Captain Levi Dingley purchased ...
. Located in the Casco Bay, Dingley Island sits off the coast of Maine near Brunswick. While visiting Maine for a birthday party, Tiemer had happened upon the property just as the previous owner put it up for sale. She bid for the house that day and received ownership only 10 minutes after placing her bid. The home's namesake of Gabriel came from a wooden weathervane from the late 18th Century that adorned its stables.[
During her time on the island, Tiemer collected driftwood (that she termed sea-scoured wood and tidewood) and painted it using an abstract style. She created a collection of painted wood from the sea called Sea Formed Symbolism.][
]
Family
Tiemer married Frederick Willie in 1915. He ran the New York City office of the ''Saturday Evening Post
''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...
'', a bimonthly magazine. Tiemer and Frederick Willie had a daughter named Erica.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiemer, Gertrude
1897 births
1967 deaths
Painters from New York City
People from East Orange, New Jersey
20th-century American painters
20th-century American photographers
American women poets
People from Harpswell, Maine
Morristown-Beard School alumni
Clubwomen
20th-century American women photographers