{"id":81,"date":"2025-01-06T16:21:26","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T23:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=81"},"modified":"2025-01-06T16:21:26","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T23:21:26","slug":"gertrude-abercrombies-autobiographical-surrealism-traverses-dreams-and-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=81","title":{"rendered":"Gertrude Abercrombie\u2019s Autobiographical Surrealism Traverses Dreams and Reality"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Gertrude<\/p>\n

\u201cSurrealism is meant for me because I am a pretty realistic person but don\u2019t like all I see,\u201d Gertrude Abercrombie<\/a> (1909-1977) once said. \u201cSo I dream that it is changed. Then I change it to the way I want it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abercrombie\u2019s stark, symbol-rich landscapes and enigmatic portraits painted in oil were influenced by the European Surrealist movement, magical realism, and her own dreams. A leading figure in Chicago art, she was also involved in the city\u2019s jazz scene, counting musical greats like Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Sarah Vaughan among her friends.<\/p>\n

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\u201cQueen and Owl in Tree\u201d (1954), oil on masonite, 4 1\/2 x 6 inches (unframed)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The artist\u2019s mystical works \u201csuggest a life of wistful introspection and emotional struggle,\u201d says a statement for the forthcoming exhibition Gertrude Abercrombie: The Whole World Is a Mystery<\/em> at the Carnegie Museum of Art. The show and accompanying catalog present an opportunity for visitors to experience the artist\u2019s highly personal work in significant depth, with access to artworks held in a range of private and public collections all gathered in one place.<\/p>\n

Born in Austin, Texas, Abercrombie grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago and spent some time in her father\u2019s hometown of Aledo, Illinois. The small town in the northwestern part of the Midwestern state eventually became a source of inspiration for her atmospheric paintings.<\/p>\n

The artist studied the Romance languages at the University of Illinois\u2014Urbana-Champaign and then pursued a course in commercial art at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, where she may also have briefly attended the School of the Art Institute.<\/p>\n

In 1932, Abercrombie began her career as a professional artist, which was spurred soon after by the support of the Federal Art Project<\/a> of the Works Progress Administration (FPA\/WPA). The program ran from 1935 to 1943 and provided economic relief to artists and craftspeople during the Great Depression. Along with Abercrombie, a slew of notable artists participated, from Arshile Gorky<\/a> and Lucile Blanch<\/a> to Jackson Pollock<\/a> and Diego Rivera<\/a>, among many others.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\u201cDemolition Doors\u201d (1964), oil on masonite, Masonite, 20 x 25 1\/2 inches (unframed)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Federal Art Project set up community centers around the U.S., sustaining the careers and livelihoods of around 10,000 artisans who contributed an estimated 400,000 easel paintings, prints, murals, posters, and other works during the program\u2019s eight-year run.<\/p>\n

Abercrombie participated in the FAP\/WPA from 1935 to 1940. Around this time, she showed her work widely, including in annual exhibitions presented by the Art Institute of Chicago and venues like Katharine Kuh Gallery<\/a>, one of the city\u2019s first commercial galleries to feature avant-garde work.<\/p>\n

Motifs like solitary women, dead trees, forking paths, stark landscapes, doors, cats, towers, and shells recur in her work. Abercrombie remarked that the scenes were always \u201cpretty real,\u201d merging facets of reality and the fantastic. \u201cOnly mystery and fantasy have been added,\u201d she said. \u201cAll foolishness has been taken out. It becomes my own dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
\u201cSplit Personality\u201d (1954), oil on masonite, 8 x 10 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In \u201cDemolition Doors\u201d (1964), for example, a black feline parks in front of a series of three multi-colored panels occupying most of the frame, behind which sits a gray, mostly empty landscape that could be either indoors or outdoors. Portal-like, the doors represent choices one makes about what direction to take, what threshold to cross. The cat stands sentry, waiting on the viewer\u2019s\u2014and by extension, the artist\u2019s\u2014ultimate decision. \u201cThe whole world is a mystery,\u201d she had said.<\/p>\n

Abercrombie associated some of her recurring symbols with a witch\u2019s persona\u2014historically an identity connected predominantly to women\u2014which she sometimes embraced in her own fashion choices. She occasionally donned a pointed velvet hat to accentuate her sharp features and tall stature. The female figure, including Abercrombie\u2019s own likeness, is often shown traversing barren terrain, reclining in pensive quietude, or interacting with otherworldly forces.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Studs Terkel shortly before her death, Abercrombie said that \u201cit is always myself that I paint.\u201d For example, in \u201cSplit Personality\u201d (1954), a woman in a blue dress, standing inside an unadorned room, has been cut in half at the waist. Her torso and head hover over a pitcher, and she reaches out toward her legs, but the shadow on the wall to the left depicts a complete figure\u2014the sum of two parts\u2014as a way of suggesting that looks can be deceiving.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\u201cThe Ivory Tower\u201d (1945), oil on masonite, 15 x 19 inches <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWith a deft hand, a concise symbolic vocabulary, and a restrained palette, she created potent images\u00a0that speak to\u00a0her\u00a0mercurial nature\u00a0and\u00a0her evolving psychology as an artist,\u201d says an exhibition statement.<\/p>\n

Later in life, Abercrombie\u2019s artistic output gradually waned as ongoing health issues related to arthritis and alcoholism took a toll. She became more reclusive as she eventually required a wheelchair, before being confined to bed. A major retrospective of her work was held at the\u00a0Hyde Park Art Center the year she died, and her will established the Gertrude Abercrombie Trust, which distributed her work and pieces by others in her collection to cultural institutions across the Midwest.<\/p>\n

Gertrude Abercrombie: The Whole World Is a Mystery <\/em>opens in Pittsburgh on January 18 and continues through June 1. The exhibition then travels to Colby College Museum of Art<\/a> in Waterville, Maine, opening on July 12 and running through January 11, 2026. Find more on the Carnegie website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\u201cWinding Road\u201d (1937), oil on board, 7 7\/8 x 10 inches (unframed)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
\u201cLetter from Karl\u201d (1940), oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
\u201cThe Countess Nerona\u201d (c. 1945), oil on masonite, 8 x 10 inches (unframed)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
\u201cSelf-Portrait Brooch\u201d (1954), oil on board, set in wire mount, 1 x 1 inch overall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
\u201cThe Church\u201d (1938), oil on canvas, 18 x 24 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
\u201cShell and Drape\u201d (1952), oil on canvas, 24 x 36 inches (unframed)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\u201cCharlie Parker\u2019s Favorite Painting\u201d (1946), oil on masonite, 17 15\/16 x 21 7\/8 x 1 1\/8 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Gertrude Abercrombie\u2019s Autobiographical Surrealism Traverses Dreams and Reality<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cSurrealism is meant for me because I am a pretty realistic person but don\u2019t like all I see,\u201d Gertrude Abercrombie (1909-1977) once said. \u201cSo I dream that it is changed.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=81"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=81"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=81"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=81"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}