Joy Postle
Encyclopedia
Joy Postle was a pioneering American environmental artist and creator of celebrated murals depicting Florida
wildlife.
to architect Oliver Hambleton Postle (1851-1900) and Mary M. Brown. She was raised in an atmosphere of respect for aesthetic achievement. Postle's father was well-known in Chicago architectural circles, having served as treasurer of the Chicago Artists Business Association in 1900. In partnership with David E. Postle (1853-?) his professional offices were in the Marquette Building (Chicago)
and they advertised in the House Beautiful
magazine — a magazine begun by Frank Lloyd Wright
's friends and clients Chanucey Williams and William Herman Winslow's Auvergne Press. Among other works, the Postle firm created the neo-classical Pattington Apartments of 1903., the Prairie Style David E Postle House in Elgin, Illinois
, and the Masonic Temple in Elgin, Illinois. Joy earned a scholarship to attend the Art Institute of Chicago
where she studied music and art. After graduation, Postle went west to rural Idaho
and became certified to teach music and art.
Canyon. Postle often saddled her horse and rode into the hills or desert to sketch during the 1920s while she lived on the ranch. Postle opened an art studio in Boise, Idaho
and was receiving attention as an interior decorator and artist. A journalist named Robert Blackstone came to interview her. They were married a year later on Dec. 6, 1928, and he became her manager.
”, a trailer that they dubbed the "Brownie House". They explored the country; Postle honed her art, accepted commissions and drew inspiration from the American landscape for her future work.
Art Project. Three years later, Blackstone conceived the idea for their "Glamour Birds" act in which bird song, recorded by Blackstone, and music accompanied Postle as she painted birds and educated her audience. Postle and Blackstone eventually settled in a modest home and studio on Lake Rose at Orla Vista, near Gotha, Florida
in 1942.
Postle counted many creative people in her circle of friends including the Chicago / Florida Prairie Style architect Hermann V. von Holst
whose portrait she drew. “Joy told me once that she had performed for Carl Sandburg
,” her step-grandson Daren Kelly remembers. After her show, the famous poet approached her, took her hand in his huge one, and said, “I can see you’re a seeker. I'm a seeker too!”
Postle used Florida’s environment as the chief subject for art. She waded through swamps, climbed trees,endured bugs and stayed up all night” to observe her beloved birds and other wildlife. Postle maintained that "a painting must have movement. It's a dance performed with a brush and pigment on a stage of canvas. It should be spontaneous and joyous".
Postle was an effective and inspirational art teacher. As one student has said: "Joy Postle taught me to observe and draw from real life and then to escape into my own art and add design and a lot of me."
, North Carolina
and Florida. In Beaumont, Texas
, Postle created murals evoking Texas and Beaumont history in a hotel lobby. In North Carolina, she created four walls of murals for the Canton Area Historical Museum. In Florida, her murals graced the First National Bank of Stuart
, the Fort Gatlin Hotel in Orlando
, the San Carlos Hotel in Pensacola (1931, demolished 1993) and Casa Iberia at Rollins College
in Winter Park
, as well as many private residences, including "Rowallan
" in Ormond Beach
. At the age of eighty, Postle completed a mural at Orlando's Fashion Square Mall. Surviving murals by Postle continue to be identified and recorded in Central Florida.
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
wildlife.
Early years and education
Katherine Joy Postle was born on January 20, 1896 in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to architect Oliver Hambleton Postle (1851-1900) and Mary M. Brown. She was raised in an atmosphere of respect for aesthetic achievement. Postle's father was well-known in Chicago architectural circles, having served as treasurer of the Chicago Artists Business Association in 1900. In partnership with David E. Postle (1853-?) his professional offices were in the Marquette Building (Chicago)
Marquette Building (Chicago)
The Marquette Building, completed in 1895, is a Chicago, Illinois landmark that was built by the George A. Fuller Company and designed by architects Holabird & Roche. The building is currently owned by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation...
and they advertised in the House Beautiful
House Beautiful
House Beautiful is an interior decorating magazine that focuses on decorating and the domestic arts. First published in 1896, it is currently published by the Hearst Corporation, who purchased it in 1934...
magazine — a magazine begun by Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
's friends and clients Chanucey Williams and William Herman Winslow's Auvergne Press. Among other works, the Postle firm created the neo-classical Pattington Apartments of 1903., the Prairie Style David E Postle House in Elgin, Illinois
Elgin, Illinois
Elgin is a city in northern Illinois located roughly northwest of Chicago on the Fox River. Most of Elgin lies within Kane County, Illinois, with a portion in Cook County, Illinois...
, and the Masonic Temple in Elgin, Illinois. Joy earned a scholarship to attend the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
where she studied music and art. After graduation, Postle went west to rural Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
and became certified to teach music and art.
Career in Idaho
Postle and her brother Vernon bought a ranch in southern Idaho along the Snake RiverSnake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
Canyon. Postle often saddled her horse and rode into the hills or desert to sketch during the 1920s while she lived on the ranch. Postle opened an art studio in Boise, Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
and was receiving attention as an interior decorator and artist. A journalist named Robert Blackstone came to interview her. They were married a year later on Dec. 6, 1928, and he became her manager.
Travels in nature
Following their marriage, the couple travelled through the western United States in a home-made “flivver bungalowBungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
”, a trailer that they dubbed the "Brownie House". They explored the country; Postle honed her art, accepted commissions and drew inspiration from the American landscape for her future work.
Chronicler of the Florida environment
They arrived in Florida in 1934 and continued their nomadic life, camping, hiking and bird watching; these explorations gave Postle the opportunity of closely studying nature and refining her craft. In 1937, Postle was involved in the WPAWorks Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
Art Project. Three years later, Blackstone conceived the idea for their "Glamour Birds" act in which bird song, recorded by Blackstone, and music accompanied Postle as she painted birds and educated her audience. Postle and Blackstone eventually settled in a modest home and studio on Lake Rose at Orla Vista, near Gotha, Florida
Gotha, Florida
Gotha is a census-designated place in Orange County, Florida, United States. Gotha is located between Ocoee, Florida and Windermere, Florida, and had a population of 731 as recorded by the 2000 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:The town of...
in 1942.
Postle counted many creative people in her circle of friends including the Chicago / Florida Prairie Style architect Hermann V. von Holst
Hermann V. von Holst
Hermann V. von Holst was an American architect practicing in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida, from the 1890s through the 1940s, best remembered for agreeing to take on the responsibility of heading up Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural practice when Wright went off to Europe with Mamah...
whose portrait she drew. “Joy told me once that she had performed for Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."-Biography:Sandburg was born in Galesburg,...
,” her step-grandson Daren Kelly remembers. After her show, the famous poet approached her, took her hand in his huge one, and said, “I can see you’re a seeker. I'm a seeker too!”
Postle used Florida’s environment as the chief subject for art. She waded through swamps, climbed trees,endured bugs and stayed up all night” to observe her beloved birds and other wildlife. Postle maintained that "a painting must have movement. It's a dance performed with a brush and pigment on a stage of canvas. It should be spontaneous and joyous".
Postle was an effective and inspirational art teacher. As one student has said: "Joy Postle taught me to observe and draw from real life and then to escape into my own art and add design and a lot of me."
Murals
Postle is best remembered for the murals that she created in commercial buildings and homes, adorning walls in TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and Florida. In Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
, Postle created murals evoking Texas and Beaumont history in a hotel lobby. In North Carolina, she created four walls of murals for the Canton Area Historical Museum. In Florida, her murals graced the First National Bank of Stuart
Stuart, Florida
Stuart is the only incorporated city of Martin County, Florida, on Florida's Treasure Coast. The population was 14,633 at the 2000 census. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 15,964....
, the Fort Gatlin Hotel in Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, the San Carlos Hotel in Pensacola (1931, demolished 1993) and Casa Iberia at Rollins College
Rollins College
Rollins College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Winter Park, Florida , along the shores of Lake Virginia....
in Winter Park
Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park is a suburban city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 24,090 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 estimates, the city had a population of 28,083. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, as well as many private residences, including "Rowallan
Rowallan
Rowallan is a historic site in Ormond Beach, Florida, United States. It is located at 253 John Anderson Highway. On October 6, 1988, it was added to the U.S...
" in Ormond Beach
Ormond Beach, Florida
Ormond Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. The population was 36,301 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 37,929. Ormond Beach is the northern neighbor of Daytona Beach and is home to Tomoka State Park.-History:Ormond Beach was...
. At the age of eighty, Postle completed a mural at Orlando's Fashion Square Mall. Surviving murals by Postle continue to be identified and recorded in Central Florida.
Later years
A fire at their home in 1968 killed Blackstone and badly injured Postle. After years of extensive surgery, she resumed her performances and exhibitions. She continued taking commissions for pet portraits, exhibiting her work, and selling paintings well into old age. In 1984, Postle broke her hip and moved into West Orange Manor Nursing Home; nevertheless she continued painting. Joy Postle died on June 1, 1989 and her ashes were spread at her home at Lake Rose in Florida.Publications by Joy Postle
Postle published several books, including:- Fine Feathers - 1941
- Glamour Birds of the Americas: Drawings and Poems - 1944
- Drawing Animals - 1953
- Drawing Birds - 1963