Chicago artist GERTRUDE ABERCROMBIE (1909-1977) often represented herself in her enigmatic paintings. In her sketchbook from the 1940s, she drew dreamy, airless landscapes, repeating favorite motifs (a leafless tree, full moon, cat, and Victorian chaise) to create her peculiarly eerie scenes.
Gertrude Abercrombie Sketchbook, c. 1943, 5 x 7 1/2 in. Figure study, pencil on paper. Gertrude Abercrombie Papers, Archives of American Art.
Description of Gertrude Ambercrombie's Papers |
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| CREATOR: | Abercrombie, Gertrude, 1909-1977. |
| TITLE: | Gertrude Abercrombie papers, 1888-1986. |
| PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: | 6.4 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 7 reels) reels 1429-1435 |
| BIO/HISTORICAL NOTE: | Painter; Chicago, Ill. Abercrombie's work is associated with Chicago's Surrealist school. She was the center of an informal salon style group of lliterary figures, artists and jazz musicians. |
| SUMMARY: | Letters and postcards, diary, sketchbooks and other art works, photographs, painting file, printed material, and a scrapbook reflecting Abercrombie's artistic career and her association with many literary and jazz figures; and papers from the Gertrude Abercrombie Trust, 1977-1986, regarding the settlement of her estate. |
| REELS 1429-1435: | Biographical sketch (4 p.); ca.400 letters and ca. 1400 postcards received, including illustrated letters and Christmas cards from Karl J. Priebe, and ca. 1400 postcards; a diary with brief entries for 1919 and 1924; files on artists, writers and musicians containing brief correspondence, printed material, and photographs, on Dudley Huppler, Jerome Karidis, Karl Priebe, James Purdy, Sonny Rollins, Carl Van Vechten, Wendell Wilcox, John Wilde, and Thorton Wilder; 2 sketchbooks and 41 sketches (36 x 29 or smaller) in ink, pencil, and wash of figures, landscapes and interiors, 4 woodcut Christmas cards by Abercrombie, a woodcut by Emil Armin, 2 pencil sketches by Naomi Hirsch, and an ink sketch by John Wilde. Also included are exhibition catalogs, announcements, and invitations; articles and clippings; sales and expense account books; a catalog file of paintings; mailing lists and guest lists; address books; a photograph album, and loose photographs of Abercrombie, her family and friends, including Louis Armstrong, Arnold Blanch, Erroll Gerner, Dizzy Gillespie, Orlando, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, Sarah Vaughan, and of works of art; memorabilia; and a scrapbook. Included in the correspondence series are letters from Dudley Huppler, Karl Priebe, James Purdy, Sonny Rollins, Ned Rorem, Carl Van Vechten, Wendell Wilcox, Thorton Wilder, and others. |
| UNMICROFILMED: | Autographed first editions, some relating to jazz, and record albums. Among the authors are James Purdy, Dudley Huppler, Ned Rorem, James Blake, Thornton Wilder, Paul Warren (Gertrude's husband), Richard Armour, Nelson Algren, Studs Terkel, Gladys Campbell (Young), Mezz (Milton) Mezzrow, Bernard Wolfe, Ross Russell, Oscar Tarcov, and Mark Turbyfill. One album, "Orlando," has a cover designed by Abercrombie. Remainder of the unmicrofilmed material consists of papers of the Gertrude Abercrombie Trust, 1977-1986, primarily correspondence of Donald Baum, executor of the estate. Also included are financial papers, printed material and photographs of Abercrombie's paintings. Correspondence, arranged alphabetically, concerns the donation of Abercrombie's art collection to various institutions and galleries mainly in the Midwest and the settling of the estate with Abercrombie's daughter, Dinah Livingston Dady. Financial papers include completed tax forms, inventories, receipts and copies of checks relating to the estate. Printed material includes an exhibition announcement and priced catalog of a retrospective show at the Hyde Park Art Center, and clippings about Abercrombie's work. |
| RESTRICTIONS: | Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Use of unmicrofilmed portion requires an appointment and is limited to Washington, D.C. storage facility. |
| PROVENANCE: | Donated 1978 and 1986 by Don Baum, executor of the Gertrude Abercrombie Trust. |
| ADDITIONAL FORMS: | 35mm microfilm reels 1429-1435 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. |
