Esther Geller (October 26, 1921 – October 22, 2015) was an American painter mainly associated with the abstract expressionist movement in Boston in the 1940s and 1950s. She was one of the foremost authorities on encaustic painting techniques.[1][2]
In 2012 her encaustics were shown in a major exhibit, The Future of the Past: Encaustic Art in the 21st Century, at the Mills Gallery in Boston.[10] The exhibit also included a video demonstration by Karl Zerbe and an interview with Geller.[11] Her works are included in the permanent collections of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Addison Gallery of American Art,[12] the Danforth Museum,[1] and the DeCordova Museum.[13]
On October 22, 2015, Geller died at the age of 93.[2]
Influenceedit
Art historian Judith Bookbinder names Geller, along with David Aronson and others, as one of the emerging artists in the 1940s who influenced the direction of modern art in Boston.[4] In 2002, Geller's early work was included in The Visionary Decade: New Voices in Art in 1940s Boston at Boston University, a retrospective of the vibrant art scene in postwar Boston.[14] Jean Gibran, wife of the artist Kahlil Gibran, names Geller as one those "who have contributed in unique ways to the flowering of Boston Expressionism."[15]
Geller was a leading expert on encaustic painting who experimented with the medium and developed her own methods, which she used and taught for decades. An interview in which she discussed her methods was featured in Arts magazine in 1957,[16] and she has contributed to books on the subject.[17][18]
Referencesedit
^ ab"Esther Geller, 93; artist known for her mastery of encaustic painting". The Boston Globe. November 9, 2015.
^ ab"Renowned Natick Artist Esther Geller Dies at 93". Patch Media. October 24, 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
^University of Illinois, College of Fine and Applied Arts (1950). Contemporary American Painting and Sculpture. The University of Michigan. pp. 41, 175.
^ abBookbinder, Judith (2005). Boston Modern: Figurative Expressionism as Alternative Modernism. UPNE. p. 193. ISBN9781584654889.
^McQuaid, Cate (18 September 2002). . The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017. The final section of the show segues into abstraction. Esther Geller's encaustics meld the figure into a dancing abstract form...
^Driscoll, Edgar (16 November 1952). "New Gallery Opens Its Doors on Newbury St". The Boston Globe.
^Brown, Nicholas. "Interview with Esther Geller". Library of Congress. An interview about Harold Shapero and Irving Fine.
^Driscoll (1952). Driscoll, covering both Geller's "one man show" at the Boris Mirski Gallery and another by Louis Kronberg, wrote, "Taking the lady before the gentleman (to prove that chivalry isn't dead, of course) one finds Miss Geller, in real life, the wife of Harold Shapero..." before going on to observe that her style had become more abstract in recent years and praising her "flair for rhythm, deftly handled patterning, and integrated composition".
^Temin, Christine (27 September 1995). "Nothing retiring about Hub's senior artists". The Boston Globe.
^McQuaid, Cate (13 November 2012). "Uncovering the many layers of wax-based painting". The Boston Globe.
^Gibran, Jean (2014). Love Made Visible: Scenes from a Mostly Happy Marriage. Interlink Publishing. p. 222. ISBN9781623710521.
^Chaet, Bernard (1960). Artists at Work. University of California. p. 64.
^Moods and Moments: Boston - 1951. DeCordova and Dana Museum and Park. 1951.
^McQuaid (2002). "Back in the 1940s, Boston was a hotbed for modern art. The artists' community here drew attention from national magazines like Time, Life, and Art News...The Boris Mirski Gallery held exchange shows with New York's Downtown Gallery on 57th Street."
^Chaet, Bernard (May 1957). "Studio Talk: An Interview with Esther Geller". Arts (31): 63. In the course of her work she has developed a number of methods which should interest painters generally. Miss Geller employs a two-burner electric plate with rheostat heat control...
^Pratt, Frances; Fizell, Becca (1949). Encaustic: Materials and Methods. Lear.
esther, geller, october, 1921, october, 2015, american, painter, mainly, associated, with, abstract, expressionist, movement, boston, 1940s, 1950s, foremost, authorities, encaustic, painting, techniques, bornoctober, 1921boston, massachusetts, diedoctober, 201. Esther Geller October 26 1921 October 22 2015 was an American painter mainly associated with the abstract expressionist movement in Boston in the 1940s and 1950s She was one of the foremost authorities on encaustic painting techniques 1 2 Esther GellerBornOctober 26 1921Boston Massachusetts U S DiedOctober 22 2015 2015 10 22 aged 93 Boston Massachusetts U S Alma materSchool of the Museum of Fine Arts BostonKnown forEncaustic paintingMovementAbstract ExpressionismSpouseHarold Shapero Contents 1 Life and career 2 Influence 3 References 4 External linksLife and career editGeller studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston in 1921 and later taught there with Karl Zerbe from 1943 to 1944 3 It was at the Museum School that she began painting with encaustic a mixture of pigment and hot wax She first received acclaim as a painter of organic abstractions in the 1940s when she exhibited with a group of other emerging artists later known as the Boston Expressionists 4 Her work was more abstract than that of Zerbe and other Boston figurative expressionists 5 6 After marrying the composer Harold Shapero in 1945 7 8 Geller continued painting and exhibiting and taught art classes at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln Massachusetts She was active as a painter for over seventy years 9 In 2012 her encaustics were shown in a major exhibit The Future of the Past Encaustic Art in the 21st Century at the Mills Gallery in Boston 10 The exhibit also included a video demonstration by Karl Zerbe and an interview with Geller 11 Her works are included in the permanent collections of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts the Addison Gallery of American Art 12 the Danforth Museum 1 and the DeCordova Museum 13 On October 22 2015 Geller died at the age of 93 2 Influence editArt historian Judith Bookbinder names Geller along with David Aronson and others as one of the emerging artists in the 1940s who influenced the direction of modern art in Boston 4 In 2002 Geller s early work was included in The Visionary Decade New Voices in Art in 1940s Boston at Boston University a retrospective of the vibrant art scene in postwar Boston 14 Jean Gibran wife of the artist Kahlil Gibran names Geller as one those who have contributed in unique ways to the flowering of Boston Expressionism 15 Geller was a leading expert on encaustic painting who experimented with the medium and developed her own methods which she used and taught for decades An interview in which she discussed her methods was featured in Arts magazine in 1957 16 and she has contributed to books on the subject 17 18 References edit a b Esther Geller 93 artist known for her mastery of encaustic painting The Boston Globe November 9 2015 a b Renowned Natick Artist Esther Geller Dies at 93 Patch Media October 24 2015 Retrieved 28 October 2015 University of Illinois College of Fine and Applied Arts 1950 Contemporary American Painting and Sculpture The University of Michigan pp 41 175 a b Bookbinder Judith 2005 Boston Modern Figurative Expressionism as Alternative Modernism UPNE p 193 ISBN 9781584654889 McQuaid Cate 18 September 2002 Despite Gaps Exhibit Shows Boston s Vigor in the 40s The Boston Globe Archived from the original on 12 September 2017 Retrieved 6 July 2017 The final section of the show segues into abstraction Esther Geller s encaustics meld the figure into a dancing abstract form Driscoll Edgar 16 November 1952 New Gallery Opens Its Doors on Newbury St The Boston Globe Brown Nicholas Interview with Esther Geller Library of Congress An interview about Harold Shapero and Irving Fine Driscoll 1952 Driscoll covering both Geller s one man show at the Boris Mirski Gallery and another by Louis Kronberg wrote Taking the lady before the gentleman to prove that chivalry isn t dead of course one finds Miss Geller in real life the wife of Harold Shapero before going on to observe that her style had become more abstract in recent years and praising her flair for rhythm deftly handled patterning and integrated composition Temin Christine 27 September 1995 Nothing retiring about Hub s senior artists The Boston Globe McQuaid Cate 13 November 2012 Uncovering the many layers of wax based painting The Boston Globe Gibran Jean 2014 Love Made Visible Scenes from a Mostly Happy Marriage Interlink Publishing p 222 ISBN 9781623710521 Chaet Bernard 1960 Artists at Work University of California p 64 Moods and Moments Boston 1951 DeCordova and Dana Museum and Park 1951 McQuaid 2002 Back in the 1940s Boston was a hotbed for modern art The artists community here drew attention from national magazines like Time Life and Art News The Boris Mirski Gallery held exchange shows with New York s Downtown Gallery on 57th Street Gibran 2014 p 213 Chaet Bernard May 1957 Studio Talk An Interview with Esther Geller Arts 31 63 In the course of her work she has developed a number of methods which should interest painters generally Miss Geller employs a two burner electric plate with rheostat heat control Pratt Frances Fizell Becca 1949 Encaustic Materials and Methods Lear Chaet 1960 Chapter 10 External links editPaintings by Esther Geller Interview with Esther Geller video Portrait of Esther Geller by Barbara Swan Esther Geller in 1947 photo of eleven Massachusetts painters ARTnews 46 10 December 1947 Photographer John Brook Esther Geller in libraries WorldCat catalog Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Esther Geller amp oldid 1217822299, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
