Irean Ethel Gordon (February 17, 1912 – May 9, 1982) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

painter. Gordon was a native of Chicago, the eldest of four children born to Joseph, a tailor, and Kitty Mulis, a homemaker. For a time in early childhood her family lived in Tucson, returning to the Chicago area when she was a teenager. In 1929 she graduated from Roosevelt High School, continuing her education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and under

Todros Geller Todros Geller (Yiddish: טודרוס געלער; July 1, 1889 – February, 23 1949) was a Jewish American artist and teacher best known as a master printmaker and a leading artist among Chicago's art community. Early life and education Gel ...

. In 1935 she married musician Leo Gordon, with whom she had two sons. She played piano and performed in community theater in addition to creating art. Gordon was a modernist who worked in oil, watercolor, and ink, and crafted sculpture as well. She worked for the Works Progress Administration and exhibited at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

. Into her later years she continued to teach art to children at home. She died in Valparaiso, Indiana of cancer in 1982. Two of Gordon's paintings, the oil-on-canvas ''Rural Scene'' and the watercolor ''Across the Bridge'', both dating to the 1940s, are owned by the Illinois State Museum.

References

1912 births 1982 deaths American women painters 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women artists Artists from Chicago Painters from Illinois School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Federal Art Project artists Works Progress Administration in Illinois Deaths from cancer in Indiana {{US-painter-1910s-stub