Trude Guermonprez, born Gertrud Emilie Jalowetz (1910 1976), was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

-born American

textile artist Textile arts are arts and crafts that use plant, animal, or synthetic fibers to construct practical or decorative objects. Textiles have been a fundamental part of human life since the beginning of civilization. The methods and materials u ...

, designer and educator, known for her

tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

landscapes. Her Bauhaus-influenced disciplined abstraction for hand woven textiles greatly contributed to the American craft and

fiber art Fiber art (fibre art in British spelling) refers to fine art whose material consists of natural or synthetic fiber and other components, such as fabric or yarn. It focuses on the materials and on the manual labor on the part of the artist as ...

movements of the 1950s, 60s and even into the 70s, particularly during her tenure at the

California College of Arts and Crafts California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...

Early life and education

Gertrud Emilie Jalowetz was born on 9 November 1910 in Danzig,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(modern

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

). Her parents were

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

and were active in the arts. Her mother was Johanna Jalowetz (née Groag), was a voice teacher and bookbinder and her father was

Heinrich Jalowetz Heinrich Jalowetz (December 3, 1882 – February 2, 1946) was an Austrian musicologist and conductor, who settled in the United States. He was one of the core members of what became known as the Second Viennese School in the orbit of Arnold Sch ...

was a musicologist. She learned

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...

while living in

Halle, Germany Halle, Germany may refer to: * Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, also called ''Halle an der Saale'', or Halle (Saale) * Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia, also called ''Halle in Westfalen'', or ''Halle (Westfalen)'' * Halle, Bentheim, in the district of Bentheim, ...

, where she attended

Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design (BURG) is the university of art and design in Halle an der Saale that was established in 1915. With a student body numbering over 1,000, BURG is one of the largest universities of art and design in Germany. It offers 20 art and design degree progr ...

(School of Fine and Applied Arts in Halle-Saale). Guermonprez studied textiles in Halle under

Benita Otte Benita Koch-Otte (23 May 189226 April 1976), born Benita Otte, was a German weaver and textile designer who trained at the Bauhaus. Life and work Benita Otte was born on 23 May 1892 in Stuttgart, Germany. Otte's father was a chemist. After att ...

. By 1933, she had received a degree from the Textile Engineering School in Berlin and scholarship to further her studies in Sweden and Finland. In 1939, her parents relocated to the United States to teach at

Black Mountain College Black Mountain College was a private liberal arts college in Black Mountain, North Carolina. It was founded in 1933 by John Andrew Rice, Theodore Dreier, and several others. The college was ideologically organized around John Dewey's educational ...

near

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

. She married a Bauhaus trained photographer in 1939,

Paul Guermonprez Paul Gustave Sidonie Guermonprez (1908–1944) was a Belgium–born Dutch photographer, graphic designer, and a Dutch resistance fighter during World War II. Early life and education Paul Guermonprez was born 28 December 1908 in Ghent, Belgiu ...

, and they lived together in the Netherlands. Paul Guermonprez was working as a graphic designer and founded his own advertising company ''Co-op 2'', prior to getting drafted for the Dutch army. By 1940, Germany occupied the Netherlands. Paul Guermonprez died in 1944 by Nazi execution, while fighting in the Dutch resistance.

Career

Black Mountain College

She relocated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1947, with the support of

Anni Albers Anni Albers (born Annelise Elsa Frieda Fleischmann; June 12, 1899 – May 9, 1994) was a German textile artist and printmaker credited with blurring the lines between traditional craft and art. Early life and education Anni Albers was born Ann ...

. Guermonprez started her teaching career in the 1940s at

. In 1947, Guermonprez began teaching weaving and design at Black Mountain College while Anni Albers was away on sabbatical, and to be with her mother Johanna Jalowetz and sister Lisa Aronson, who were also at the school. Upon Anni's return, Guermonprez was asked to continue as a full-time faculty member. She remained at Black Mountain College until the dissolution of the weaving program in 1949.

Pond Farm Workshops and San Francisco

After leaving Black Mountain college, Guermonprez moved West and joined the

Pond Farm Pond Farm (also known as Pond Farm Workshops) was an American artists’ colony that began in the 1940s and, in one form or another, continued until 1985. It is located near the Russian River resort town of Guerneville, California, about north ...

artist collective run by Bauhaus-trained ceramicist

Marguerite Wildenhain Marguerite Wildenhain, née Marguerite Friedlaender and alternative spelling ''Friedländer'' (October 11, 1896 – February 24, 1985), was an American Bauhaus-trained ceramic artist, educator and author. After immigrating to the United States in ...

Guerneville, California Guerneville ( , ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County, California, United States. The town is historically known for the logging community, formed in the late 1800s. Guerneville ...

, and taught at the Pond Farm Workshops. While at Pond Farms she met John Elsesser. By March 24, 1951, she married John Elsesser (1897–1991), a carpenter and furniture builder. The couple moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, living at 810 Clipper Street in an older home her husband had restored. By December 1952, she had

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

in the United States.

California College of the Arts

In 1954, Guermonprez joined the faculty of

California College of the Arts California College of the Arts (CCA) is a private art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded in Berkeley, California in 1907 and moved to a historic estate in Oakland, California in 1922. In 1996 it opened a second campus in San ...

(CCA, formerly California College of Arts and Crafts). By 1960, she served as the Chair of the Crafts Department at CCA, overseeing: metal arts, ceramics, glass blowing, stitchery and textile printing, as well as supervising the weaving curriculum. Her students included Kay Sekimachi Stocksdale, Sheila O'Hara, Ann Wilson, and Jane Lackey, among others. She additionally worked teaching at Oakland College and at the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

Textile work

Throughout her career, the majority of her work was private commission. She sometimes worked with her husband John Elsesser who would build furniture, and Guermonprez would create textiles for upholstery. Guermonprez combined the painterly possibilities of

silkscreen Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh ...

with the structural geometry implicit in

warp and weft Warp and weft are the two basic components used in weaving to turn thread or yarn into fabric. The lengthwise or longitudinal warp yarns are held stationary in tension on a frame or loom while the transverse weft (sometimes woof) is drawn ...

to create fiber wall hangings that are both texturally rich and delicately drawn. She was also known to paint directly on the warp. Trude Guermonprez had two solo exhibits at the

De Young Museum The de Young Museum, formally the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, is a fine arts museum located in San Francisco, California. Located in Golden Gate Park, it is a component of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, along with the Legion of Honor ...

, one in 1964 and one 1970. Guermonprez was awarded the Craftsmanship Medal of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

(1970) for her "distinguished creative design" in textiles and weaving. She was a fellow at the

American Craft Council The American Craft Council (ACC) is a national non-profit organization that champions craft based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1943 by Aileen Osborn Webb, the council hosts national craft shows and conferences, publishes a quarterly maga ...

(1975).

Death and legacy

Guermonprez died on 8 May 1976, after a short illness at Mount Zion Hospital in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Guermonprez's work is included in various public museum collections including 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 ...

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum housed within the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile (New York City), Museum Mile. It is one of 19 museums that fall under the ...

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Pa ...

Oakland Museum of California The Oakland Museum of California or OMCA (formerly the Oakland Museum) is an interdisciplinary museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California, located adjacent to Oak Street, 10th Street, and 11th Street in Oakland, Cali ...

, among others. Posthumously she had a solo exhibition at the

, ''The Tapestries of Trude Guermonprez'' (1982).