Marguerite Zorach
Encyclopedia
Marguerite Zorach (September 25, 1887 - June 27, 1968) was an American
fauvist
painter, textile artist, and graphic designer and was an early exponent of modernism
in America. She won the 1920 Logan Medal of the Arts
.
. Her father, a lawyer for the Napa vineyards, and mother were descended from "New England seafarers and Pennsylvania Quakers. She began drawing at a very young age and her parents gave her a very liberal education, music lessons in elementary school and four years of Latin
at Fresno High School
. She was one of a small group of women admitted to Stanford University
in 1908. Rather than completing university in the United States
, she travelled to France
at the invitation of her aunt, Harriet Adelaide Harris. There she attended the post-impressionist school La Palette, where she met William Zorach
, and associated with Pablo Picasso
and ex-patriate Gertrude Stein
. She exhibited at the 1910 Société des Artistes Indépendants
, and the 1911 Salon d'Automne
.
In 1912, she married William Zorach, on December 24, 1912, in New York City
. They had a son and daughter. They lived in New York, and spent summers in New England
. In 1922, they visited Gaston Lachaise
at Georgetown, Maine
, and later bought a house. They were friends with Marsden Hartley
, F. Holland Day
, Gertrude Kasebier
, and Paul Strand
.
Her work appeared in the 1913 Armory Show
. Marguerite continued to paint and began to work with textiles, using embroidery
and batik
. In 1964, Zorach received a D.F.A. from Bates College
.
She was an innovator of the American modernist movement and helped introduce fauvist and cubist styles to the United States. After traveling extensively in Egypt, Palestine, India, and Japan, she returned home to produce brilliantly colored Fauvist landscapes with thick black outlines. Her style developed and included more Cubist structure until she turned to creating embroidered tapestries after the birth of her two children. While she continued to paint and assist her husband, William Zorach, on larger projects, her main focus was on these tapestries. She completed two WPA murals for the Fresno post office.
In 2007, the Gerald Peters Gallery held a retrospective exhibition of her work. In 2010, her watercolors were exhibited at the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery. In 2011, a retrospective is being held at Franklin & Marshall College
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
fauvist
Fauvism
Fauvism is the style of les Fauves , a short-lived and loose group of early twentieth-century Modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the representational or realistic values retained by Impressionism...
painter, textile artist, and graphic designer and was an early exponent of modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
in America. She won the 1920 Logan Medal of the Arts
Logan Medal of the arts
The Logan Medal of the Arts was an arts prize initiated in 1907 and associated with the Art Institute of Chicago. From 1917 through 1940, 270 awards were given....
.
Life
Marguerite was born in Santa Rosa, CaliforniaSanta Rosa, California
Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
. Her father, a lawyer for the Napa vineyards, and mother were descended from "New England seafarers and Pennsylvania Quakers. She began drawing at a very young age and her parents gave her a very liberal education, music lessons in elementary school and four years of Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
at Fresno High School
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
. She was one of a small group of women admitted to Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1908. Rather than completing university in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, she travelled to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
at the invitation of her aunt, Harriet Adelaide Harris. There she attended the post-impressionist school La Palette, where she met William Zorach
William Zorach
William Zorach was a Lithuanian-born American sculptor, painter, printmaker, and writer. He won the Logan Medal of the arts.-Life and career:...
, and associated with Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
and ex-patriate Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein was an American writer, poet and art collector who spent most of her life in France.-Early life:...
. She exhibited at the 1910 Société des Artistes Indépendants
Société des Artistes Indépendants
—The Société des Artistes Indépendants formed in Paris in summer 1884 choosing the device "No jury nor awards" . Albert Dubois-Pillet, Odilon Redon, Georges Seurat and Paul Signac were among its founders...
, and the 1911 Salon d'Automne
Salon d'Automne
In 1903, the first Salon d'Automne was organized by Georges Rouault, André Derain, Henri Matisse, Angele Delasalle and Albert Marquet as a reaction to the conservative policies of the official Paris Salon...
.
In 1912, she married William Zorach, on December 24, 1912, in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. They had a son and daughter. They lived in New York, and spent summers in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. In 1922, they visited Gaston Lachaise
Gaston Lachaise
Gaston Lachaise was an American sculptor of French birth, active in the early 20th century. A native of Paris, he was most noted for his female nudes such as Standing Woman.-Early life and education:...
at Georgetown, Maine
Georgetown, Maine
Georgetown is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,020 at the 2000 census. Home to Reid State Park, the town is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, and later bought a house. They were friends with Marsden Hartley
Marsden Hartley
Marsden Hartley was an American Modernist painter, poet, and essayist.-Early life and education:Hartley was born in Lewiston, Maine, where his English parents had settled. He was the youngest of nine children. His mother died when he was eight, and his father remarried four years later to Martha...
, F. Holland Day
F. Holland Day
Fred Holland Day was an American photographer and publisher. He was the first in the U.S.A. to advocate that photography should be considered a fine art.-Life:...
, Gertrude Kasebier
Gertrude Käsebier
Gertrude Käsebier was one of the most influential American photographers of the early 20th century. She was known for her evocative images of motherhood, her powerful portraits of Native Americans and her promotion of photography as a career for women.-Early life :Käsebier was born Gertrude...
, and Paul Strand
Paul Strand
Paul Strand was an American photographer and filmmaker who, along with fellow modernist photographers like Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Weston, helped establish photography as an art form in the 20th century...
.
Her work appeared in the 1913 Armory Show
Armory Show
Many exhibitions have been held in the vast spaces of U.S. National Guard armories, but the Armory Show refers to the 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art that was organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors...
. Marguerite continued to paint and began to work with textiles, using embroidery
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
and batik
Batik
Batik is a cloth that traditionally uses a manual wax-resist dyeing technique. Batik or fabrics with the traditional batik patterns are found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, China, Azerbaijan, India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, and Singapore.Javanese traditional batik, especially from...
. In 1964, Zorach received a D.F.A. from Bates College
Bates College
Bates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...
.
She was an innovator of the American modernist movement and helped introduce fauvist and cubist styles to the United States. After traveling extensively in Egypt, Palestine, India, and Japan, she returned home to produce brilliantly colored Fauvist landscapes with thick black outlines. Her style developed and included more Cubist structure until she turned to creating embroidered tapestries after the birth of her two children. While she continued to paint and assist her husband, William Zorach, on larger projects, her main focus was on these tapestries. She completed two WPA murals for the Fresno post office.
In 2007, the Gerald Peters Gallery held a retrospective exhibition of her work. In 2010, her watercolors were exhibited at the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery. In 2011, a retrospective is being held at Franklin & Marshall College
Franklin & Marshall College
Franklin & Marshall College is a four-year private co-educational residential national liberal arts college in the Northwest Corridor neighborhood of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States....
.
External links
- Official website
- "Marguerite Zorach", Smithsonian Museum of American Art
- "Marguerite Zorach", Gerald Peters Gallery