Gertrude Partington Albright facts for kids

Gertrude Partington Albright, A Structure Brave: Palace of Fine Arts, etching. This artwork was published in Cora Lenore Williams' book The Fourth-Dimensional Reaches of the Exposition in 1915.

Gertrude Partington Albright was an amazing artist. She was born in Britain in 1874 and later became an American citizen. Gertrude was famous for her special drawings called etchings, especially portraits of people. She also painted beautiful landscapes of California. Her paintings sometimes showed the influence of a style called Cubism. Gertrude taught art for almost 30 years at the California School of Fine Arts.

Her Early Life and Family

Gertrude Partington was born in Heysham, a small village by the sea in England. Her father, John Herbert Evelyn Partington, was also a painter. Her mother was Sarah Partington. Gertrude came from a very artistic family! Four of her six brothers and sisters also worked in the arts.

• Her sister Blanche became a writer.
• Her sister Phyllis became an opera singer, known as Frances Peralta.
• Her brother John managed theaters.
• Her brother Richard became an artist, just like their father.

In 1889, when Gertrude was about 15, her family moved to the United States. They settled in Oakland, California.

In 1917, Gertrude married Herman Oliver Albright. He was also a landscape painter. She passed away in San Francisco. Her important papers are kept at the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley.

Her Art Education and Career

Gertrude learned a lot about art from her father when she was young. She was only 16 years old when she sold her very first artwork! For a while, she worked as an illustrator for a newspaper called the San Francisco Examiner. She drew pictures of courtrooms and portraits of important people in society.

Gertrude earned enough money from her illustrations to travel to Europe. She wanted to study art even more. In the late 1890s, she joined the Académie Delécluse in Paris. By 1903, her art was being shown at the famous Paris Salon. This was a very big deal for artists!

Gertrude lived abroad for several years. She made trips back to California now and then. In 1912, she returned to the Bay Area for good. She opened her own studio where she painted and made prints. She was already a well-known artist by then.

In 1917, Gertrude joined the teachers at the California School of Fine Arts. She taught painting and etching there. In 1932, she became an associate professor. She continued teaching at the school until she retired in 1946. One of her students was a famous artist named Victor Arnautoff. She also helped lead the school by being on its board of directors.

Her Famous Artworks

Gertrude Albright often received requests to create portraits. Her portrait etchings were highly praised. People loved how well she captured a person's likeness with clear, simple lines. She is also known for her landscape paintings. These were done in oil on wood. Her landscapes showed influences from Cubism and Post-Impressionism.

Art critics noticed that her paintings were influenced by the famous artist Paul Cézanne. However, they agreed that her work was special and successful on its own. Gertrude's art was shown in many places. She even won a bronze medal for one of her portraits. This was at the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition.

Her artworks are now part of important museum collections. You can find her work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Her art is also at the Oakland Museum and the De Young Museum in California.

Gertrude was very active in art groups in the Bay Area. She was a founding member of the California Society of Etchers. She also directed the San Francisco Society of Women Artists. She often served on juries that decided which artists would win prizes.

See also

In Spanish: Gertrude Partington Albright para niños