Grace Albee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Grace Albee
|
|
|---|---|
Grace Albee, 1932 Aug.
|
|
| Born |
Grace Thurston Arnold
July 28, 1890 |
| Died | July 26, 1985 (aged 94) Bristol, Rhode Island
|
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Institut d'Esthétique Contemporaine, Paris, 1928–29; Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island, 1910–12 |
| Alma mater | Rhode Island School of Design |
| Known for | Printmaking |
| Spouse(s) | Percy Albee |
| Awards | 3rd prize, 1942 Artists for Victory exhibition |
Grace Thurston Arnold Albee (born July 28, 1890 – died July 26, 1985) was an American artist. She was known for making prints and wood engravings. During her 60-year career, she created over 250 prints. These included works made from linocuts, woodcuts, and wood engravings.
Grace Albee won more than 50 awards for her art. Her works are displayed in 33 museum collections. She was also the first female graphic artist to become a full member of the National Academy of Design.
Contents
Grace Albee's Early Life
Grace Albee was born in Scituate, Rhode Island. Her parents were Henry Cranston Arnold and Susanne Arabella Thurston. Even though her father didn't want her to be an artist, Grace showed great talent.
While in high school, she won two scholarships to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). She attended RISD from 1910 to 1912. There, she studied drawing and painting. She also learned the basics of woodcutting, which later became a big part of her art.
On May 10, 1913, Grace married Percy F. Albee, who was a muralist. They had five sons over nine years. Grace managed to balance her family life with her passion for art.
In 1915, Grace and Percy started a puppet show called "Percy F. Albee Marionettes." Grace made posters for the show using large linoleum blocks. These early prints showed the puppets in action. The show toured around Providence for eight years.
Grace took a short break from art between 1915 and 1919. She used this time to focus on raising her young children.
Exploring Printmaking in the 1920s
Grace Albee returned to art in 1919. She created some of her first linocuts, like "The Bath" (1919) and "In the Studio, Percy Albee" (1922). She also made "A Kitchen Window." Besides large prints, she used linocuts to design Christmas cards.
In the 1920s, Grace's husband, Percy, also became interested in linocuts. This allowed Grace to try out more of her own printmaking ideas. She could show her block-printing work without it seeming to compete with Percy's art.
In 1923, Grace showed her works "In the Studio," "The Bath," and "A Kitchen Window" at an exhibition. All her prints were for sale for ten dollars. Grace and Percy also experimented with printing colored linoleum blocks on silk. This new technique earned them recognition from the Providence Journal in 1926.
Their silk works were large, colorful hangings that looked like tapestries. It took Percy a year to perfect the technique. This made sure the ink colors would not flake or bleed into the silk. Grace designed all the images for these tapestries. They included a picture of "Grand Turk," a map of the 1778 Battle of Rhode Island, and a tapestry called "Perch." These works were shown at the Providence Art Club in 1927 under Grace Albee's name.
In 1927, the Providence Art Club praised Grace for her twelve linocuts. They admired her skill and how well she handled relief cutting. Eleven of these linocuts showed the landscapes and fishing industry of Rockport, Massachusetts. The twelfth print was a portrait of her husband, Percy Albee.
In March 1928, Grace and her family moved to Paris, France. Before leaving, she created prints like "Old Providence" and "To Each His Own." In Paris, Grace became even more interested in showing city and country scenes in her engravings. She studied at the Institut d'Esthétique Contemporaine from 1928 to 1929. During her five years in Paris, Grace showed her art at several Paris Salons. Her work received positive reviews.
In 1932, Grace Albee had her first solo art show. It was at the American Library in Paris. This was important because she showed her works by herself, not alongside her husband's art. In France, Grace met other American artists living abroad, like Norman Rockwell.
Grace Albee's Art in the 1930s and 1940s
Grace Albee and her family returned to the United States in 1933. They lived in New York City, where she continued to make prints. Her prints from this time often showed the city's buildings. For example, her linocut "Contrast-Rockefeller Center" (1934) showed an old Gothic church in front of tall skyscrapers.
In 1937, Grace and her family moved to Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Her prints then changed to show country scenes, like stone houses and farms. In 1946, she made the linocut "The Boyer Place," which showed a Pennsylvania farm.
Grace Albee won first place for her print "Housing Problems" in 1937. This was at the Fifteenth Annual Exhibition of American Prints in Philadelphia. In 1942, she became an Associate member of the National Academy of Design in New York City. She became a full member in 1946. Grace was also a member of the Society of American Graphic Artists.
Later Years and Legacy
The Albee family lived in Pennsylvania until 1962. After that, they lived in Kew Gardens, New York, from 1962 to 1974. Then they moved to Barrington, Rhode Island, from 1974 until Grace's death. Grace Albee continued to create prints even when she was in her 90s. She passed away in 1985 in Bristol, Rhode Island, at the age of 94.
Where to See Grace Albee's Art
Grace Albee's artworks are displayed in many public collections across the United States. You can find her prints in famous museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
In 1976, 80 of her works were shown in a special exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. The Library of Congress has 23 of her prints in its collection. Her art is also kept at the Smithsonian Institution and the Rosenwald Collection in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Other places include the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Georgia Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Boston Public Library.
Images for kids
-
Grace Albee, 1932 Aug.
