Tina Blondell (born 1953) is an Austrian/American painter. She was born in

Salzburg, Austria Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

, but spent the better part of her childhood in Italy where she was introduced to art. She moved to the United States, first to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in 1971 and then to

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

in 1992. By the late 1990s, she had settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and her paintings are a part of many public collections, including in Minnesota at the

Minneapolis Institute of Art The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...

and the

Weisman Art Museum The Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum is an art museum at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1934 as University Gallery, the museum was originally housed in an upper floor of the university's Northrop Auditorium. In 19 ...

Early life

Blondell was born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1953 to an American father and an Austrian mother. In 1957, she moved to Italy, where she lived until she was 18. In Italy, her father taught her how to draw, and she explored European art while traveling with her parents. Her interest and education in art was heavily influenced by seventeenth and nineteenth century artists such as Artemisia Gentileschi, Caravaggio, and

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and e ...

Art

Blondell's works reflect a narrative style inspired by early art. Although her art is generally considered contemporary, she often quotes images from art history. She combines references to the past with a newer genre. Examples of her historical quoting include ''Urban American Gothic]'' (2008), which references Grant Wood's '' American Gothic'' from 1930. She also references historical and biblical stories such as

Judith beheading Holofernes The account of the beheading of Holofernes by Judith is given in the deuterocanonical ''Book of Judith'', and is the subject of many paintings and sculptures from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. In the story, Judith, a beautiful widow, is ab ...

in her 1999 watercolor painting ''I'll Make You Shorter By a Head''. Many of the subjects in Blondell's paintings are inspired by her friends and acquaintances. Blondell's contemporary paintings often contain themes related to feminism and activism. In her painting ''Urban American Gothic'' (2008), she hints at the same-sex couple in the painting with a human rights logo on the cap. She represents women's empowerment through paintings like ''These Boots Are Made For Walking'' (2007). Many of these paintings celebrate women and womanhood.

Collections and exhibitions

Aside from private collections, Blondell's work can be found in the permanent collections at the

and the

. She also has public paintings in

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneapo ...

. These include ''Helping Hands'' at the Hennepin County Commissioners Office (2000) and the ''Hennepin County History Mural'' at the

Hennepin County Government Center Hennepin County Government Center is the courthouse and primary county government administration building for Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located in downtown Minneapolis, the county seat of Hennepin County. Before its c ...

(2000).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blondell, Tina 1953 births Living people 21st-century American women painters 21st-century American painters Artists from Salzburg Artists from Minneapolis Austrian emigrants to Italy Austrian emigrants to the United States