Maxine Albro
Encyclopedia
Maxine Albro was an American painter, muralist and lithographer. She was one of the few female artists commissioned under the New Deal's Federal Art Project, a program launched during the Great Depression that also employed the likes of Jackson Pollock
, Willem de Kooning
, among other painters who would go on to become famous.
Albro's works can be found in the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian American Art Museum, San Francisco's Coit Tower, Allied Arts Guild, and in various galleries throughout the United States. Albro studied under Diego Rivera
in Mexico, and she is most recognized for her frescos and her characteristic treatment of Mexican and Spanish subject matter.
The strong influence of Mexican art
is visible throughout her paintings, murals and lithographs. In an interview two years before her death, Albro said, "I was so influenced by what I had seen in Mexico. ... There is nothing I loved more than painting the Virgin of Guadalupe," a celebrated Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary, which originated in Mexico.
The famed photographer Imogen Cunningham
took a hauntingly intimate photograph of Albro in 1931, which can be seen on the Official Site for the Imogen Cunningham Trust.
.
In 1920, she moved to San Francisco where she studied at the California School of Fine Arts
between 1923 to 1925. A year later, she enrolled in the Art Students League of New York. In 1927, she studied at Académie de la Grande Chaumière
in Paris.
Albro was an assistant to Diego Rivera
and studied with Pablo O'Higgins
.
She was part of the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project, a program initiated under President Franklin Roosevelt's
New Deal. She created murals at Coit Tower
in 1933 to 1934, and a mosaic at San Francisco State University.
In 1938, she married Parker Hall. They moved to Carmel, California, and later traveled to Mexico. Albro was a member of the Carmel Art Association, California Society of Mural Artists, American Artists' Congress
, and the California Art Club
.
Her work is in the National Museum of the American Indian
and the Smithsonian American Art Museum
.
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
, Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands....
, among other painters who would go on to become famous.
Albro's works can be found in the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian American Art Museum, San Francisco's Coit Tower, Allied Arts Guild, and in various galleries throughout the United States. Albro studied under Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
in Mexico, and she is most recognized for her frescos and her characteristic treatment of Mexican and Spanish subject matter.
The strong influence of Mexican art
Mexican art
Mexican art consists of the various visual and plastic arts which developed over the geographical area now known as Mexico. The development of these arts roughly follow the history of Mexico, divided into the Mesoamerican era, the colonial period, with the period after the gaining of Independence...
is visible throughout her paintings, murals and lithographs. In an interview two years before her death, Albro said, "I was so influenced by what I had seen in Mexico. ... There is nothing I loved more than painting the Virgin of Guadalupe," a celebrated Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary, which originated in Mexico.
The famed photographer Imogen Cunningham
Imogen Cunningham
Imogen Cunningham was an American photographer known for her photography of botanicals, nudes and industry.-Life and career:...
took a hauntingly intimate photograph of Albro in 1931, which can be seen on the Official Site for the Imogen Cunningham Trust.
Life
Albro grew up in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
In 1920, she moved to San Francisco where she studied at the California School of Fine Arts
San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute is a school of higher education in contemporary art with the main campus in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, California. Its graduate center is in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The private, non-profit institution is accredited by WASC and is a member of the...
between 1923 to 1925. A year later, she enrolled in the Art Students League of New York. In 1927, she studied at Académie de la Grande Chaumière
Académie de la Grande Chaumière
The Académie de la Grande Chaumière is an art school in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, France. The school was founded in 1902 by the Swiss Martha Stettler , who refused to teach the strict academic rules of painting of the École des Beaux-Arts. It opened the way to the "Art Indépendant"...
in Paris.
Albro was an assistant to Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
and studied with Pablo O'Higgins
Pablo O'Higgins
Pablo Esteban O'Higgins was an American-Mexican artist, muralist and illustrator....
.
She was part of the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project, a program initiated under President Franklin Roosevelt's
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
New Deal. She created murals at Coit Tower
Coit Tower
Coit Tower is a tower in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The tower, in the city's Pioneer Park, was built in 1933 at the request of Lillie Hitchcock Coit to beautify the city of San Francisco; Coit bequeathed one-third of her estate to the city "to be expended in an...
in 1933 to 1934, and a mosaic at San Francisco State University.
In 1938, she married Parker Hall. They moved to Carmel, California, and later traveled to Mexico. Albro was a member of the Carmel Art Association, California Society of Mural Artists, American Artists' Congress
American Artists' Congress
The American Artists’ Congress was an organization founded in February 1936 as part of the popular front of the Communist Party USA as a vehicle for uniting graphic artists in projects helping to combat the spread of fascism...
, and the California Art Club
California Art Club
The California Art Club , founded in 1909, is one of the oldest and most active arts organizations in California. It celebrated its centennial in the spring of 2010. The California Art Club originally evolved from the Painters Club of Los Angeles...
.
Her work is in the National Museum of the American Indian
National Museum of the American Indian
The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum operated under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution that is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the native Americans of the Western Hemisphere...
and the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C. with an extensive collection of American art.Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a broad variety of American art that covers all regions and art movements found in the United States...
.
Style
Albro's artistic style is described as "clean, bright and clear with the strong rounded forms of this era, often depicting the women of Mexico, in particular those of the Tehuantepec region in Oaxaca." Her mural at San Francisco's Coit Tower, "California Agriculture", is still powerful today and is clearly one of the strongest murals produced by an esteemed group of Works Progress Administration artists.External links
- "Oral history interview with Maxine Albro and Parker Hall, 1964 July 27", Archives of American ArtArchives of American ArtThe Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 16 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washington, D.C...
- http://www.archive.org/details/californiaartres202hail
- http://tobeycmossgallery.com/albroindex.html