Alice Frey
Encyclopedia
Alice Frey was a Belgian
painter
.
Born in Antwerp, Alice was one of three children. She was trained as a dressmaker
, a trade which she later taught as a school teacher. As with many Belgian families, the Freys left their home in the First World War, moving to Ostend
. There Alice met painter James Ensor
who became a close friend. Ensor encouraged Alice's interest in art, and after the war she enrolled as student in the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, where she studied drawing and painting.
It was as a student that she met her future husband Georges Marlier, himself later a noted art critic and painter. They married in 1922. Together they formed part of a group known as Lumière, which published a journal. A second journal, Ça Ira, was established by Alice, and these formed part of the avant-garde movement in Belgium in the 1920s.
Alice Frey's work was widely exhibited in her lifetime. In her later years she became profoundly deaf and lived alone in Ostend. On her death in 1981, much of her work was sold at auction, and only the small collection that she willed to Ostend is accessible. Stylistically, Frey's work was influenced by Marc Chagall
, Ensor, and Edgard Tytgat. Her early works are expressionist, while her later work may be closer to magic realism
.
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
.
Born in Antwerp, Alice was one of three children. She was trained as a dressmaker
Dressmaker
A dressmaker is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Also called a mantua-maker or a modiste.-Notable dressmakers:*Cristobal Balenciaga*Charles Frederick Worth...
, a trade which she later taught as a school teacher. As with many Belgian families, the Freys left their home in the First World War, moving to Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
. There Alice met painter James Ensor
James Ensor
James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor was a Flemish-Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for almost his entire life...
who became a close friend. Ensor encouraged Alice's interest in art, and after the war she enrolled as student in the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, where she studied drawing and painting.
It was as a student that she met her future husband Georges Marlier, himself later a noted art critic and painter. They married in 1922. Together they formed part of a group known as Lumière, which published a journal. A second journal, Ça Ira, was established by Alice, and these formed part of the avant-garde movement in Belgium in the 1920s.
Alice Frey's work was widely exhibited in her lifetime. In her later years she became profoundly deaf and lived alone in Ostend. On her death in 1981, much of her work was sold at auction, and only the small collection that she willed to Ostend is accessible. Stylistically, Frey's work was influenced by Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century."According to art historian Michael J...
, Ensor, and Edgard Tytgat. Her early works are expressionist, while her later work may be closer to magic realism
Magic realism
Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the "real" and the "fantastic" in the same stream of...
.