Gertrude Abercrombie

Artist Details

• First Name Gertrude
• Maiden Name Abercrombie
• Surname Abercrombie
• Spouse’s Full Name Bob Livingston; attorney; married 1940
• Names and Birth Years of Children Dinah  
• Birth Date February 17, 1909
• Birth Place Austin, Texas
• Death Date July 3, 1977
• Death Place Chicago, Illinois
• Ethnicity Caucasian
• Residence(s) 1912:  Ravinia, Illinois
  
  1913:  Berlin, Germany
  
  1914: Aledo, Illinois
  
  1915: 5728 S. Dorchester St., Hyde Park, Chicago, Illinois
  
   
• Active In Chicago, Illinois
• Categories Painter-Acrylic, Printmaker
• Training 1929:  BA in romance languages, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
  1929:  School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
  1929:  American Academy of Art, Chicago, Illinois
  self-taught
  
• Subject(s) of Art Array
• Exhibitions History 1932:  Portraits of Chicago Artists by Chicago Artists, Increase Robinson's Studio Gallery, Chicago
  
  1933:  Grant Park Outdoor Art Fair, Chicago, Illinois
  
  1934, 1936, 1937:  Annual Exhibitions, Chicago No-Jury Society of Artists, Chicago, Illinois
  
  1934-1937:  Annual Exhibitions, Chicago Society of Artists, Chicago, Illinois
  
  1935: International Watercolor Exhibition, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
  
  1935: Delphic Studios, New York, New York
  
  1935:  Salon des Refuses, Davis Store Galleries, Chicago, Illinois
  
  1935-1936:  Traveling Exhibition of the Chicago Society of Artists, Chicago, Illinois
  
  1935-1944, 1946-1951, 1953, 1955, 1960, 1967:  Annual Exhibition of Works by Chicago and Vicinity Artists, Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois
  
  1936, 1937: Annual Exhibition of Works by Chicago and Vicinity Artists, Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois;
  
  1936: New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, New Jersey
  
  1939: Riverside Museum, New York, New York
  
  1940:  International Water Color Exhibition, Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois
  
  1941: Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, Illinois; Landscape with Church (Church with Small Figure), circa 1939, oil on canvas;
  
  March 4-April 14, 1942: The Third Biennial of Contemporary American Paintings, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia; Visit at Midnight, 1941, oil on canvas
  
  April 12-May 26, 1942: 46^th Annual Exhibition of Artists of Chicago and Vicinity, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; Solitude, 1942, oil on Masonite;
  
  1943: Kalamazoo Institute, Kalamazoo, Michigan; Road Leading Home, 1941, oil on canvas; Solitude, 1942, oil on Masonite; Dinah Enters the Landscape, 1943, oil on Masonite;
  
  1944: Milwaukee Art Institute, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Solitude, 1942, oil on Masonite; Dinah Enters the Landscape, 1943, oil on Masonite
  
  May 11-June 18, 1944: Gertrude Abercrombie and Harold Noecker, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; Visit at Midnight, 1941, oil on canvas;
  
  1944: Thirty-First Annual Exhibition of Wisconsin Art, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Road Leading Home, 1941, oil on canvas
  
  1944: Marshall Field Gallery, Chicago, Illinois; Road Leading Home, 1941, oil on canvas2
  
  1945:  Society for Contemporary American Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois
  
  January 24-February 6, 1946:  First Exhibition—Paintings, Gertrude Abercrombie, Associated American Artists Gallery, New York, New York; Visit at Midnight, 1941, oil on canvas; Solitude, 1942, oil on Masonite; Blue Screen, 1945, oil on Masonite;
  
  1946: Annual Exhibition of Works by Chicago and Vicinity Artists, Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; The Past and the Present
  
  1947: Ohio University, Athens, Ohio; Road Leading Home, 1941, oil on canvas
  
  1947 - circa 1972:  Hyde Park Art Fair, Chicago, Illinois
  
  1948:  Solo, Chicago Public Library, Art Room, Chicago, Illinois
  
  1948:  Contemporary American Painting, 1948-1951, Univeristy of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
  
  1950, 1951: Contemporary American Painting Exhibition, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
  
  March 7-April 4, 1952: Gertrude Abercrombie: Paintings, Stevens-Gross Galleries, Chicago, Illinois; Alone (The Stroll), 1946, oil on Masonite; Night Owl, 1947, oil, on Masonite;
  
  1952-1954, 1956-1958: Artist Member Exhibition, Renaissance Society, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
  
  1952-1964:  Solo, various galleries in Chicago, Aurora and Winnetka, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  
  September 1953: Gertrude Abercrombie, Newman Borwn Gallery, Chicago, Illinois; Self and Cat (Possum), 1953, oil on canvas;
  
  November 12-December 13, 1953: 57^th Annual Exhibition of Works by Artists of Chicago and Vicinity, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; Self and cat (Possum), 1953, oil and canvas
  
  1954: Irv Benjamin’s Restaurant, Chicago, Illinois; Alone (The Stroll), 1946, oil on Masonite; Self and Cat (Possum), 1953, oil on canvas
  
  June 1957: Hyde Park Art Fair, Chicago, Illinois; Leaf, Shell and Jack, 1957, oil on Masonite
  
  October 4-31, 1960: Devorah Sherman Gallery, Chicago, Illinois; possibly Dinah Enters the Landscape, 1943, oil on Masonite; Shell and Drapery, 1952, oil on canvas; Eggs and Carnation, 1955, oil on canvas
  
  1957: Old Town Art Gallery, Chicago, Illinois; Lincoln and Christine (Abe and Christine), 1955
  
  May 28-June 15, 1962: Hyde Park Collects: Kenwood Centennial Exhibition, Renaissance Society, Chicago, Illinois; Four Trees and Three Owls, 1950;
  
  1965: Primitives, Gilman Gallery, Chicago, Illinois [probably]: Coffee Mill, 1964, oil on Masonite
  
  1976:  The Emergence of Modernism in Illinois 1914-40, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, Illinois; There on the Table, 1935, oil on Masonite; Slaughter House Ruins at Aledo, 1937, oil on canvas; The Pedestal, 1937 or 1938, oil on canvas
  
  January 28-March 5, 1977:  Gertrude Abercrombie, A Retrospective Exhibition, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, Illinois [solo]; Dinah Enters the Landscape, 1943, oil on Masonite; Seated Man, circa 1943, oil on Masonite; Shell and Drapery, 1952, oil on canvas; Eggs and Carnation, 1955, oil on canvas [dimensions transposed]; The Door and the Rock, 1971, oil on Masonite; Self Portrait, 1968, pen and ink on paper; The Mysterious Stranger (Man, House and Lady), 1953, oil on Masonite; Untitled (Stallion and Shed), 1963, oil on Masonite; Coffee Mill, 1964, oil on Masonite; Bird Eggs and Dominoes with Pyramid, 1963, oil on Masonite; Four Trees and Three Owls, 1950 [96 works total]
  
  1983:  Gertrude Abercrombie and Friends, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, Illinois
  
  March 18-May 17, 1991:  Gertrude Abercrombie, State of Illinois Art Gallery, Chicago, Illinois; Dinah Enters the Landscape, 1943, oil on Masonite; Shell and Drapery, 1952, oil on canvas; Self and Cat (Possum), 1953, oil on canvas; The Mysterious Man, 1953, oil on Masonite; Untitled (Stallion and Shed), 1963, oil on Masonite; Coffee Mill, 1964, oil on Masonite; Bird Eggs and Dominoes with Pyramid, 1963, oil on Masonite
  
  July 28-October 15, 1991: Gertrude Abercrombie, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, Illinois; Dinah Enters the Landscape, 1943, oil on Masonite; Shell and Drapery, 1952, oil on canvas; Self and Cat (Possum), 1953, oil on canvas; The Mysterious Man, 1953, oil on Masonite; Untitled (Stallion and Shed), 1963, oil on Masonite [as Untitled]; Coffee Mill, 1964, oil on Masonite; Bird Eggs and Dominoes with Pyramid, 1963, oil on Masonite
  
  The New Woman in Chicago, 1910-1945: Paintings from Illinois Collections, Rockford College, Rockford, Illinois
  
  1993:  Art Gallery (Chicago), Illinois State Museum, Lockport, Illinois
  
  January 20 - March 4, 2018: Gertrude Abercrombie: Portrait of the Artist as a Landscape,  Elmhurst, Illinois, Elmhurst Art Museum; Compote and Grapes, 1941, oil on Masonite; Landscape with Church (Church with Small Figure), circa 1939, oil on canvas; Visit at Midnight, 1941, oil on canvas; Solitude, 1942, oil on Masonite; Dinah Enters the Landscape, 1943, oil on Masonite; Alone (The Stroll), 1946, oil on Masonite (as Untitled (Figure on Moonlit Path)); Seated Man, circa 1943, oil on Masonite; Blue Screen, 1945, oil on Masonite; Night Owl, 1947, oil on Masonite; Shell and Drapery, 1952, oil on canvas; Compote and Purple Yarn, 1952, oil on Masonite; Eggs and Carnation, 1955, oil on canvas; Self and Cat (Possum), 1953, oil on canvas; Owl and Tornado, 1956, oil on Masonite; Leaf, Shell and Jack, 1957, oil on Masonite; Untitled (Shell), 1957, oil on Masonite; Untitled (Four Doors, Cat), 1957, oil on Masonite; The Door and the Rock, 1971, oil on Masonite
  
   
  
  March 23 - June 15, 2018: Gertrude Abercrombie: Portrait of the Artist as a Landscape, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, Illinois; Compote and Grapes, 1941, oil on Masonite; Landscape with Church (Church with Small Figure), circa 1939, oil on canvas;  Visit at Midnight, 1941, oil on canvas; Solitude, 1942, oil on Masonite; Dinah Enters the Landscape, 1943, oil on Masonite; Alone (The Stroll), 1946, oil on Masonite (as Untitled (Figure on Moonlit Path));  Seated Man, circa 1943, oil on Masonite; Blue Screen, 1945, oil on Masonite; Night Owl, 1947, oil on Masonite; Shell and Drapery, 1952, oil on canvas; Compote and Purple Yarn, 1952, oil on Masonite; Eggs and Carnation, 1955, oil on canvas; Self and Cat (Possum), 1953, oil on canvas; Owl and Tornado, 1956, oil on Masonite; Siamese Cat, 1956, oil on Masonite (as Untitled (Cat and Ball)); Leaf, Shell and Jack, 1957, oil on Masonite; Untitled (Shell), 1957, oil on Masonite; Untitled (Four Doors, Cat), 1957, oil on Masonite; The Door and the Rock, 1971, oil on Masonite;
  
  August 9 - September 23, 2018:  Gertrude Abercrombie, Karma, 188 E. 2^nd St., New York, New York; Compote and Grapes, 1941, oil on Masonite; Moonlight Path (Visit at Midnite), 1941, oil on canvas; Solitude, 1942, oil on Masonite; Seated Man, circa 1943, oil on Masonite: Blue Screen, 1945, oil on Masonite; Night Owl, 1947, oil on Masonite; Shell and Drapery, 1952, oil on canvas; Compote and Purple Yarn, 1952, oil on Masonite; Eggs and Carnation, 1955, oil on canvas; Owl and a Tornado, 1956, oil on Masonite; Siamese Cat, 1956, oil on Masonite (as Untitled (Cat and Ball)); Leaf, Shell and Jack, 1957, oil on Masonite; Untitled (Shell), 1957, oil on Masonite; Untitled (Four Doors, Cat), 1957, oil on Masonite; The Door and the Rock, 1971, oil on Masonite; The Mysterious Man, 1953, oil on Masonite; Untitled (Stallion and Shed), 1963, oil on Masonite [as Station and Shed]; Shell (HUGH), oil on Masonite [as Shell Miniature]; Coffee Mill, 1964, oil on Masonite; Bird Eggs and Dominoes with Pyramid, 1963, oil on Masonite
  
   
  
  Lake Forest Art Fair, Lake Forest, Illinois; Lincoln and Christine (Abe and Christine), 1955
  
  Lanable Pokrass Gallery, Chicago, Illinois: Road Leading Home, 1941, oil on canvas
  
  Milwaukee Art Fair, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Lincoln and Christine (Abe and Christine), 1955
  
  University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Solitude, 1942, oil on Masonite; Alone (The Stroll), 1946, oil on Masonite
  
  Associated American Artists Galleries, California; Night Owl, 1947, oil on Masonite;
  
  Associated American Artists Galleries, New York, New York; Night Owl, 1947, oil on Masonite
  
   
• Collections Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
  
  Burbank School, Chicago, Illinois
  
  Illinois State Museum, Springfield, Illinois
  
  Illinois State University Gallery, Normal, Illinois
  
  Millikin University, Decatur, Illinois
  
  Peoria Riverfront Museum, Peoria, Illinois
  
  National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian, Washington DC
  
  Western Illinois University Art Gallery, Macomb, Illinois
  
  Private Collection of Powell and Barbara Bridges Collection, Wilmette, Illinois
• Publications Als, Hilton, Helen Molesworth, David Rimanelli. (Nothing but) Flowers, New York, NY. 2022. Cozzolino, Robert. “Gertrude Enters the Landsape,” Casting Spells: The Gertrude Abercrombie Collection of Laura and Gary Maurer. Chicago: Hindman Auction Sale 1123 September 28, 2022. Falk, Peter Hastings. Who Was Who in American Art 1898 to 1947. Madison, CN: Soundview Press, 1985. Gertrude Abercrombie at www.sullivangoss.com/gertrude_abercrombie/ Greenhouse, Wendy. Chicago Painting, 1895-1945: The Bridges Collection. Springfield: Illinois State Museum, 1999. Greenhouse, Wendy, and Susan Weininger. Chicago Painting 1895–1945: The Bridges Collection. [Exhibition catalogue] Springfield: University of Illinois Press and Illinois State Museum, 2004. (includes illustration of Self-Portrait of My Sister, 1941) Illinois State Museum. The Emergence of Modernism in Illinois 1914-1940. Springfield: Illinois State Museum, 1976. Illinois State Museum. Gertrude Abercrombie and Friends. Springfield: Illinois State Museum, 1983. “Peyton Boswell Comments: The Editor’s “Ten,’” The Art Digest 16, 2 (1942) Smith, Kent and Susan Weininger. Gertrude Abercrombie: an exhibition. Springfield: Illinois State Museum, 1991. Storr, Robert and Susan Weininger, Robert Cozzolino, Dinah Livingston, Studs Terkel. Gertrude Abercrombie, New York, 2018, pp. 189; 482, illus. Weininger, Susan. "Gertrude Abercrombie." Women Building Chicago 1790-1990: A Biographical Dictionary. Ed. Rima Lunin Schultz and Adele Hast. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001. -----. “Maurer Collection of Abercrombie Paintings,” Casting Spells: The Gertrude Abercrombie Collection of Laura and Gary Maurer. Chicago: Hindman Auction Sale 1123 September 28, 2022. Yochim, Louise Dunn. Role and Impact: The Chicago Society of Artists. Chicago: The Society, 1979.
• Memberships 1930s: Chicago No-Jury Society of Artists, Chicago, Illinois
  
  1930s-1940s: Chicago Society of Artists, Chicago, Illinois
• Awards 1936:  Joseph Eisendrath Prize, Annual Exhibition of Works by Chicago and Vicinity Artists, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
  
  1938:  Mr. & Mrs. Frank H. Armstrong Prize, Annual Exhibition of Works by Chicago and Vicinity Artists, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
  
  1946:  William and Bertha Clusmann Prize, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; The Past and the Present
• Archive(s) Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
• Other Occupation(s) 1931:  commercial artist, Mesirow department store, Chicago, Illinois
  
  1934-40: Public Works of Art Project, Illinois
• Website(s) http://www.chicagomodern.org/artists/gertrude_abercrombie/
• Biography Parents:  Tom and Lula Janes Abercrombie; worked for a traveling opera company
  
  Friend of Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holliday, Thornton Wilder, and artist Karl Priebe.
  
  personal emblems: bunch of grapes; long black gloves
  
  In 2011 Chicago station WTTW produced an Art Beat segment called "Gertrude Abercrombie: Midwestern Surrealist."
  
  Art Historian Susan Weininger has written two comprehensive biographical essays with additional materials about Gertrude Abercrombie. Please see: The catalog for the 1991 Illinois State Museum retrospective exhibit Gertrude Abercrombie, and the "Gertrude Abercrombie." Women Building Chicago 1790-1990: A Biographical Dictionary. Ed. Rima Lunin Schultz and Adele Hast. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001.