Female of the Species

November 2021

FEMALE OF THE SPECIES

A a r o n Ga l l er i e s

Mary Henry (1913-2009) Magia #2, Mendocina 1966, 48 x 49 1/2 inches Acrylic on canvas Signed, titled and dated verso, original artist’s frame

Female of the Species November 2021

Gallery Hours Tuesday - Saturday 11am-5pm

Ph 847.724.0660 info@aarongalleries.com www.aarongalleries.com www.instagram.com/aaron_galleries

A a r o n Ga l l er i e s

Welcome to our newest virtual catalogue, Female of the Species.

We are showcasing just some of the talented, important women in our inventory.

In selecting these women artists, we chose artwork that we really loved by an artist who had already broken through the glass ceiling. Therefore, we chose women whose careers or bodies of work are still soaring up and beyond that ceiling.

Aaron Galleries is always searching for work by inspiring female artists. We are fortunate to have many more in our inventory that are not included in this catalogue.

We applaud and support the women who devote their lives to the creation of art. They have paved the way for future female artists to do the same with fewer obstacles.

4

ARTISTS Mary Abbott Gertrude Abercrombie Betty Blayton Elizabeth Catlett Mary Reed Daniel Claire Falkenstein Helen Frankenthaler Mary Henry (cover painting) Suzanne Jackson Lee Krasner Joan Mitchell Gladys Nilsson Howardena Pindell Christina Ramberg Clover Vail Kara Walker Shirley Woodson

5

Mary Abbott, (1921-2019), was an exciting NYC Abstract artist.

Her early interest in art led her to courses at The Art Students League in the late 1930s. She worked with many of The Irascibles’ group who rebelled against the art establishment, including Willem deKooning, Baziotes, Motherwell and more. She was a member of the New York Abstract Expressionists in the late 1940s and 1950s.

Untitled, c. 1957 Oil and graphite on paper 28 ½ x 22 ½ inches Signed lower right

6

Gertrude Abercrombie, (1909-1977), was born in Austin, Texas, however she lived and worked in Chicago. Gertrude studied at the University of Illinois and the Art Institute of Chicago. She is known for her always riveting, mysterious, surreal paintings. Her work is becoming very desirable, and her prices are rising quickly.

Untitled (Whale and Moon), 1947 Oil on masonite 14 ½ x 12 ¾ inches Signed and dated lower left

7

Betty Blayton, (1937-2016), was an activist, advocate, artist, educator and lecturer.

She was a printmaker, painter and illustrator. Her work is beautiful and spiritual, and rare. We feel fortunate to have her in our collection.

Falcon Spirit #2, 2007 Monoprint 15 ½ inches (diameter) Signed, titled and dated

8

Elizabeth Catlett , (1915-2012), was an important artist who often focused on the female experience. In graduate school, at the University of Iowa, she studied with Grant Wood and Harry Edward Stinson.

She won a Rosenwald Grant to study in Mexico where she remained throughout most of her career.

Torso, c. 1988 Bronze on unpolished stone 13 ¼ x 6 ½ x 4 inches Initialed “EC” at bottom of figure

9

Mary Reed Daniel, (1946-2006), was born in East St. Louis, IL and attended Southern Illinois University. In 1978 she received the Milliren Co. of NY Purchase Award. She is also represented in the Smithsonian National Museum of American Art and exhibited nationally and internationally.

Sunday Morning, 1976 Watercolor on paper 11 x 8 ½ inches Signed lower right

10

Claire Falkenstein, (1908-1997), was a Contemporary Art pioneer. She was born in Oregon and moved to California. Between 1950 and 1965, she lived and worked in Paris. Her work is shown in the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, and in museums around the world.

Untitled, c. 1975 Cast paper, Edition 2/15 (rare) 23 inches (diameter) Signed in pencil

11

Helen Frankenthaler, (1928-2011), was a pioneer, an American mas a colleague of Lee Krasner, Grace Hartigan and Joan Mitchell. She world.

12

ster and one of the original innovative Colorfield artists. She was is represented in most important Modern collections all over the

Plaza Real, 1987 Etching and aquatint in colors, edition 21/60 Image: 20 x 26 ½ Signed and numbered in pencil

13

Mary Henry, (1913-2009), received her BFA from the California School of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. She taught at Iowa State and returned to the West Coast to study lithography at the San Francisco School of Fine Arts. She completed her MFA with Moholy-Nagy at the New Bauhaus in Chicago. The Portland Museum of Art has an extensive collection of her work.

Magia #2, Mendocino, 11/13/1966 Acrylic on canvas 48 x 49 ½ inches Signed, titled and dated on verso, (in original artist’s frame)

14

Suzanne Jackson, (b. 1944), is an important Abstract artist. She is a Renaissance woman who was a ballerina, an educator, a poet and continues her unusual method of ‘painting’ without canvas. Over the past several years, Suzanne has had retrospective and solo exhibitions with a published book. She has sold many works of art to major public and private collections.

Zephyr, 2004-10 Acrylic, graphite on layered paper on canvas 43 x 76 x 2 inches Signed and annotated verso NFS

15

Lee Krasner, (1908-1984), was born in Brooklyn, NY. In 1934, the WPA hired her to paint murals. From 1937-40, she studied under Hans Hoffman. She married Jackson Pollock in 1945 and devoted herself to his career for many years. After his death, Krasner blossomed as a major Abstract Expressionist in her own right.

Blue Stone, 1969 Color lithograph on Arches (rare), edition 30/100 22 ½ x 30 ½ inches Signed and numbered lower left

16

Joan Mitchell, (1925-1992), born in Chicago, was a trailblazer for women artists.

She was a leading figure in the second generation of Abstact Expressionists in New York City. Joan herself stated that although her paintings seemed total abstractions, they were, in fact, "about a feeling that comes to me from the outside, the landscape."

Little Weeds II, 1992 Lithograph, from the artist proof edition (AP VIII) 9 ¼ x 21 ½ inches Signed lower right

17

Howardena Pindell, (b. 1943), is an important mixed media artist, educator and curator. Her work intricately explores texture, color and structures, while referencing issues of racism, violence, slavery, etc. She is a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship Award.

Flight/Fields, 1988-89 Color lithograph with etching, edition 26/30 16 x 20 inches Signed, numbered and dated in pencil

18

Howardena Pindell, (cont.)

Constellations, 2014 Open-bite etching, edition 38/100 30 x 22 inches Signed, dated, titled and numbered in pencil

19

Gladys Nilsson, (b. 1940), is is an extremely popular and tale agists), that was formed by students from the Art Institute of domesticity. She is married to fellow Hairy Who artist, Jim Nu

20

In The Afternoon, 2007 Watercolor and gouache on paper 13 7/8 x 19 7/8 inches Signed, titled and dated verso

ented artist. She is one of the original Hairy Who, ( The Chicago ImChicago. Her paintings are a surreal mixture of fantasy, whimsy and utt.

21

Christina Ramberg, (b. 1946-1995), was associated with The Chicago Imagists, (Hairy Who), that formed from students at the Art Institute of Chicago. She was known for seductively rendering fragments of women's bodies and frequently bound torsos. Her art is highly valued and quite rare.

Back-to-Back, 1973 Etching on white wove paper, edition of 20 3 15/16 x 7 13/16 inches Signed, titled and dated

22

Clover Vail, (b. 1939), was born in Switzerland to American parents. Her grandfather was artist Lawrence Vail and her father was artist Laurence Vail. Her family fled the German invasion, along with Peggy Guggenheim. Clover attended Bennington College and studied with Paul Feeley and Tony Smith. She is a member of the American Abstract Group.

Abstract #9, 2001 Oil on gessoed Arches paper 23 x 15 ½ inches Signed verso

23

Kara Walker, (b. 1969), is an American Contemporary painter, silhouettist, installation artist, filmmaker and professor of art. She explores sexuality, violence and race relations in her exciting, controversial works of art.

Testimony Suite #1-5, 2005 Photogravure, edition 26/40 22 x 30 ½ inches (sheet) Signed, dated and numbered

24

Shirley Woodson, (b. 1936), studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and received an MA from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. She is the recipient of the MacDowell Colony Fellowship award and was the Resident Artist for the Brandywine workshop, among many other honors. She is an Art Education specialist and Art Administrator.

Unknown, 1990 Mixed media and collage on paper 15 ½ x 13 ½ inches Signed lower center

25

A

a r o n

Ga

l l e r i e s

1031 Waukegan Road Glenview, Illinois 60025 847.724.0660 aarongalleries.com