Kyra Markham (born Elaine Hyman, 1891–1967) was an actress, figurative painter and

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...

. Markham was briefly married to the architect

Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Jr. (March 31, 1890 – May 31, 1978), commonly known as Lloyd Wright, was an American architect, active primarily in Los Angeles and Southern California. He was a landscape architect for various Los Angeles projects (192 ...

, and five years later, married the

scenographer A scenographer or production designer, develops the appearance of a stage design, a TV or movie set, a gaming environment, a trade fair exhibition design or a museum experience exhibition design. The term originated in theater. A scenographer work ...

David Stoner Gaither. She worked for the

Federal Arts Project The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administratio ...

, creating works of

social realism Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...

that documented American life in the 1930s. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, her art was focused on the propaganda effort against the Nazis.

Biography

Markham was born Elaine Hyman in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. She studied drawing at the

Chicago Art Institute The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and list of largest art museums, largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visit ...

from 1907 to 1909, and subsequently worked as a

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

ist and printmaker. In addition to her work as an artist, Markham was an accomplished actress. She appeared with the Chicago Little Theater from 1909 to the 1920s, with the

Provincetown Players The Provincetown Players was a collective of artists, writers, intellectuals, and amateur theater enthusiasts. Under the leadership of the husband and wife team of George Cram Cook, George Cram “Jig” Cook and Susan Glaspell from Iowa, the Play ...

from 1916, and in movies in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. She lived with the author and playwright

Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm mora ...

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

from 1914-1916, helping him with his writing, editing, and typing. Through Dreiser she became acquainted with H.L Mencken,

Edgar Lee Masters Edgar Lee Masters (August 23, 1868 – March 5, 1950) was an American attorney, poet, biographer, and dramatist. He is the author of ''Spoon River Anthology'', ''The New Star Chamber and Other Essays'', ''Songs and Satires'', ''The Great V ...

, and other writers. Due to Dreiser’s womanizing tendencies, Markham left him in 1916 and moved to Provincetown to escape his desperate pleas of reconciliation. While there, Markham continued acting alongside

George Cram Cook George Cram Cook or Jig Cook (October 7, 1873 – January 14, 1924) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, novelist, poet, and university professor. Believing it was his personal mission to inspire others, Cook led the fou ...

, Susan Giaspell, and

Eugene O’Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...

, who founded the

Provincetown Playhouse The Provincetown Playhouse is a historic theatre at 133 MacDougal Street between 3rd Street (Manhattan), West 3rd and 4th Street (Manhattan), West 4th Streets in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is named for the P ...

. During this early stage, Markham supported herself by making bookjackets and illustrations, and later working as an art director for film companies like

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

and Metro. In 1922 she married the architect

and briefly had

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

as a father-in-law. In 1927, she married David Gaither and collaborated with him on the set design for a children's play, ''The Forest Ring,'' staged at the Roerich Museum Theatre in 1930. Gaither encouraged Markham to pursue "her first love, painting." Markham returned 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 ...

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 ...

in 1930, where she studied with Alexander Abels. Before the stock market crash, Markham was a successful bathroom muralist. From the 1920s until the Depression she obtained commercial commissions from clubs and restaurants. During the 1930s, Markham's artistic career began to gain momentum, regularly winning prizes for her lithographic work. In 1934, Markham organized her first solo exhibition in

Ogunquit, Maine Ogunquit ( ) is a resort town in York County, Maine. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,577. Ogunquit is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Ogunquit, which means "beau ...

, featuring prints, murals and

lithographs Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

. Markham created works of

depicting street beggars, musicians, actors and scenes from department stores. In recognition of her work, Markham received the prestigious Mary S. Collins Prize at the Philadelphia Print Club's annual exhibition the following year for her lithograph ''Elin and Maria'' (1934). Markham sold work to the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...

, the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

and the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

. From 1935 to 1937, she worked in the Graphic Arts Division for the

, a

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

program designed to provide employment for artists during the Depression. The ''Hall of Inventions'' at the 1939

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

in New York included 40

diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle mode ...

s by Markham. During

she created propaganda satirizing the Nazis and promoting

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

at home. In 1946 Markham and Gaither moved to an old farmhouse in

Halifax, Vermont Halifax is a town in Windham County, Vermont, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 771. History Halifax was the second town chartered, west of the Connecticut River on May 11, 1750 by New Hampshire Governor Benni ...

. Markham stopped making prints after moving to her remote Vermont farm, but continued to work in more accessible mediums such as painting, drawing and ceramics. She was a member of the Southern Vermont Artists Association and participated in their annual exhibitions in Manchester. Over the next twenty years she sold her designs to a postcard company, American Arts, Inc., and had her prints published in prestigious publications. Markham also worked as an illustrator for Children’s books during this time. Markham moved to

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

in Haiti as a widow in 1960. She was still enthusiastic for her work, and her later work reflected Markham's new home. While living in Haiti, Markham continued to paint and established a salon for local celebrities, American expatriates, and island visitors. Markham died in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1967.

Work

Context and themes

In the time between the two World Wars, American Scene printmakers, like Markham, opposed the

Etching Revival The etching revival was the re-emergence and invigoration of etching as an original form of printmaking during the period approximately from 1850 to 1930. The main centres were France, Britain and the United States, but other countries, such as t ...

style and instead embraced

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, lithography exploded – the

WPA WPA may refer to: Computing *Wi-Fi Protected Access, a wireless encryption standard *Windows Product Activation, in Microsoft software licensing * Wireless Public Alerting (Alert Ready), emergency alerts over LTE in Canada * Windows Performance An ...

/ FAP alone published roughly 240,000 prints from 11,285 original images. Like Markham, many other artists working in this style, such as

Mabel Dwight Mabel Dwight (1875–1955) was an American artist whose lithographs showed scenes of ordinary life with humor and tolerance. Carl Zigrosser, who had studied it carefully, wrote that "Her work is imbued with pity and compassion, a sense of irony, ...

, Reginald Marsh,

Elizabeth Olds Elizabeth Olds (December 10, 1896 – March 4, 1991) was an American artist known for her work in developing silkscreen as a fine arts medium. She was a painter and illustrator, but is primarily known as a printmaker, using silkscreen, woodcut, ...

, Caroline Durieux, and Russell Limbach, used lithography as a vehicle to employ humor and satire of daily life. Often categorized as

, Markham’s work presents extracted scenes from everyday life in a dramatic manner, turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. Markham’s work explored the incredible and grim aspects of modern society with a strong interest in labor themes, like much of the socially concerned art of the 1930s. This examination of labor roles was especially vital during Depression-era politics, and Markham often expressed this theme through the environment she knew best: theater. A repeated theme in Markham’s work, theater is presented in several prints through the unique perspective of the backstage. Although similar in subject matter to Mabel Dwight’s ''Houston Street Burlesque'' (1928) and Elizabeth Olds’ ''Burlesque'' (1939), Markham’s ''Burlycue'' (1938) differs by focusing on the dancers identities as workers, rather than as objectified figures. Markham emphasizes the dancers confidence, workplace solidarity, and relaxed interactions – allowing viewers to see the Burlesque in a new light and shifting the mood from tantalizing to lighthearted amusement. Although many of her prints depict scenes of entertainment, whether backstage in the dressing room or performing under the spotlight, Markham is also interested in other leisure activities such as attending lively night clubs and social gatherings. A mural she painted for the Community Hall in West Halifax, Vermont depicts a barn-raising. Often evoking a dream-like state, Markham’s use of light, combined with detailed realism, results in fantastical compositions of daily life (9). Similarly to

Paul Cadmus Paul Cadmus (December 17, 1904 – December 12, 1999) was an American artist widely known for his egg tempera paintings of gritty social interactions in urban settings. He also produced many highly finished drawings of single nude male figures ...

and George Tooker, Markham injected fantasy into the social realist genre.

List of works

*
Nightclub
', 1935, lithograph. *
Fisherman's Luck
1938,'' lithograph. *
Hotcha
'' 1938, aquatint. *
Ohmpeer
'' 1944, lithograph. *
Bleecker Street Fire Hydrant
', 1942, lithograph. *
July 4th, 1936
', 1936, lithograph. *
Cherry Blossom in Brooklyn
', 1937, lithograph. *
The Silver Trumpets of the Rain
', 1936, lithograph. *
New Year's Eve in Greenwich Village
', 1938, oil on canvas laid on masonite. *
Flag Raising in Leroy Street
', 1942, lithograph. *
Mature Vision
', 1935, lithograph. *
Stage Door Johnnie
', 1937, lithograph. *
Sailors at Penn Station
', 1944, lithograph. *
The Fit Yourself Shop
', 1935, lithograph. *
The Show is Over
'' 1936, lithograph. *
At Her Dressing Table
', 1939, oil on canvas board. *
Laughing Gas (Theodore Dreiser's Operation)
', 1943, lithograph. *
Summer Idyll
', 1941, aquatint. *
Burlycue
', 1936, lithograph. *
Haitian Village Women
', 1961, oil on masonite. *

', 1934, lithograph.

References

External links

''Bleeker Street fire hydrant''
by Kyra Markham

lithograph at the

''July 4th, 1936''
lithograph by Kyra Markham
''Ohmpeer''
lithograph of laundry hanging behind

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...

''Sleep''
lithograph in the

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...

''Well Met in the Subway''
lithograph in the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...