Rowena Meeks Abdy
Encyclopedia
Rowena Meeks Abdy was an American painter
who flourished in Northern California in the early 20th century. Working in oil, watercolour and charcoal, she achieved prominence in the en plein air
painting school and is held in several permanent collections of significant museums. She had significant interactions with other famous California artists such as Armin Hansen
and Arthur Frank Mathews
.
Weeks was born in Vienna
to wealthy American parents, with whom she moved to San Francisco at age three. Although crippled at birth, she proved motivated as a young girl and enrolled in the Mark Hopkins Art Institute in her early teens. There she studied under Arthur Frank Mathews.
In the year 1910 she married writer Harry B. Abdy, and the couple established their first home in the thriving art colony at Monterey, California
. In Monterey she studied with the distinguished California artist Armin Hansen
. In Monterey she enjoyed painting views of wharves and fisheries activity as did her coeval painter Lillie May Nicolson. Later she moved to San Juan Bautista
, where her fondness for Spanish architecture led her to build a mission style
home. In 1917 she moved again south to San Diego, but by 1926 she surfaced again in residence on Lombard Street, San Francisco, considered the world's crookedest street. She remained in San Francisco until her death from alcoholism
.
Abdy's works are held in the following permanent collections:
Visual arts of the United States
American art encompasses the history of painting and visual art in the United States. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, artists primarily painted landscapes and portraits in a realistic style. A parallel development taking shape in rural America was the American craft movement,...
who flourished in Northern California in the early 20th century. Working in oil, watercolour and charcoal, she achieved prominence in the en plein air
En plein air
En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors.Artists have long painted outdoors, but in the mid-19th century working in natural light became particularly important to the Barbizon school and Impressionism...
painting school and is held in several permanent collections of significant museums. She had significant interactions with other famous California artists such as Armin Hansen
Armin Hansen
Armin Hansen , native of San Francisco, is prominent American Painter of the En plein air school, best known for his marine canvases. His father Hermann Hansen was also a famous artist of the American West...
and Arthur Frank Mathews
Arthur Frank Mathews
Arthur F. Mathews was an American Tonalist painter who was one of the founders of the American Arts and Crafts Movement. Trained as an architect and artist, he and his wife Lucia Kleinhans Mathews had a significant effect on the evolution of Californian art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
.
Weeks was born in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
to wealthy American parents, with whom she moved to San Francisco at age three. Although crippled at birth, she proved motivated as a young girl and enrolled in the Mark Hopkins Art Institute in her early teens. There she studied under Arthur Frank Mathews.
In the year 1910 she married writer Harry B. Abdy, and the couple established their first home in the thriving art colony at Monterey, California
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
. In Monterey she studied with the distinguished California artist Armin Hansen
Armin Hansen
Armin Hansen , native of San Francisco, is prominent American Painter of the En plein air school, best known for his marine canvases. His father Hermann Hansen was also a famous artist of the American West...
. In Monterey she enjoyed painting views of wharves and fisheries activity as did her coeval painter Lillie May Nicolson. Later she moved to San Juan Bautista
San Juan Bautista, California
San Juan Bautista is a city in San Benito County, California, United States. The population was 1,862 at the 2010 census, up from 1,549 at the 2000 census. The city of San Juan Bautista was named after Mission San Juan Bautista...
, where her fondness for Spanish architecture led her to build a mission style
Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture
The Spanish Colonial Revival Style was a United States architectural stylistic movement that came about in the early 20th century, starting in California and Florida as a regional expression related to history, environment, and nostalgia...
home. In 1917 she moved again south to San Diego, but by 1926 she surfaced again in residence on Lombard Street, San Francisco, considered the world's crookedest street. She remained in San Francisco until her death from alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
.
Abdy's works are held in the following permanent collections:
- California Palace of the Legion of HonorCalifornia Palace of the Legion of HonorThe California Palace of the Legion of Honor is a fine art museum in San Francisco, California...
- Commercial Club, San Francisco
- Mills CollegeMills CollegeMills College is an independent liberal arts women's college founded in 1852 that offers bachelor's degrees to women and graduate degrees and certificates to women and men. Located in Oakland, California, Mills was the first women's college west of the Rockies. The institution was initially founded...
, Oakland, California - Nevada Museum of ArtNevada Museum of ArtThe Nevada Museum of Art, located at 160 West Liberty Street in Reno, Nevada, is the only American Association of Museums accredited art museum in the state of Nevada. The museum is thematic, focusing on the growing interest in the protection of the land...
, Reno - Seattle Art MuseumSeattle Art MuseumThe Seattle Art Museum is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington, USA. It maintains three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill, and the Olympic Sculpture Park on the central Seattle waterfront, which opened on...