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PROPERTY FROM THE URBAN S. HIRSCH III COLLECTION, BEVERLY HILLS
Lot 1A
GERTRUDE ABERCROMBIE(1909-1977)Silo at Aledo
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20 November 2024, 17:00 EST
New YorkSold for US$864,100 inc. premium
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GERTRUDE ABERCROMBIE (1909-1977)
Silo at Aledo
signed and dated 'Abercrombie '53' (lower left)
oil on canvas
36 1/4 x 24 in (92 x 60.9 cm)
Painted in 1953
signed and dated 'Abercrombie '53' (lower left)
oil on canvas
36 1/4 x 24 in (92 x 60.9 cm)
Painted in 1953
Footnotes
We are grateful to Dr. Susan Weininger, Professor Emerita, Roosevelt University, for her assistance in cataloging this work.
Provenance
Dicky Pfaelzer Collection, Chicago & Sante Fe (acquired directly from the artist in 1960).
Thence by descent to the present owner.
Exhibited
Chicago, Newman Brown Gallery, Gertrude Abercrombie, September 1953.
Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, 57th Annual Exhibition by Artists of Chicago and Vicinity, November 12 – December 13, 1953, no. 1.
Chicago, Marshall Field and Company, Gertrude Abercrombie, December 1954, no. 28.
Chicago, Hyde Park Art Center, September – November 1956.
(possibly) Chicago, Illinois, Devorah Sherman Gallery, October 4 - 31, 1960.
Chicago, Hyde Park Art Center, Gertrude Abercrombie, A Retrospective Exhibition, January 28 - March 5, 1977, no. 95.
Silo at Aledo by American Surrealist Gertrude Abercrombie is a quietly powerful work depicting a stark dreamscape with highly personal iconography. Fiercely proud of her Midwestern heritage, Abercrombie looked for inspiration in her immediate surroundings, transforming ordinary objects and personal experiences from her world into a magical vision of immense significance. As seen in the present work, Abercrombie's compositions were simple and never overcluttered; every element contributed to the structure and significance of the composition. For Abercrombie, Surrealism was about better understanding herself and remaining true to her own artistic style:
"Surrealism is meant for me," she once remarked, "because I am a pretty realistic person but don't like all I see. So I dream that it is changed. Then I change it to the way I want it. It is almost always pretty real. Only mystery and fantasy have been added. All foolishness has been taken out. It becomes my own dream" (the artist quoted in Abercrombie Papers, Archives of American Art, written on a scrap of paper).
The austere landscape in Silo at Aledo is typical of Abercrombie, who often would use setting and objects as a metaphor for her own desolate, trapped feelings of isolation. While the entire scene gives off an other-worldly feel, photos of a silo found in Abercrombie's archive were a clear source of inspiration for Silo at Aledo. Often announcing that she was "going out tomorrow for painting inspiration," Abercrombie painted a number of sites from Aledo, Illinois. Abercrombie briefly moved to Aledo at age five to live with her grandparents, and returned almost every summer, often depicting architecture or distinctive landscape elements from the town (Gertrude Abercrombie quoted in Susan Weininger, Gertrude Abercrombie, Illinois, 1991, p. 11).
The inclusion of the owl in the upper window of the silo is another motif highly personal to the artist. Gertrude Abercrombie liked to represent herself in various guises throughout her artistic career, and most heavily associated herself with the witch. By identifying as a witch, Abercrombie gained a sense of power she did not feel in real life. As a result, imagery of witchcraft and sorcery is prevalent in her work, and the inclusion of owls, cats, broomsticks, crystal balls, and pointed hats in her paintings was a conscious effort to publicly assume the role of the witch.
Silo at Aledo (1953), painted at a time of immense output for the artist, encapsulates the fantastical sense of mystery Abercombie conjured through a deft hand and meticulous execution. The painting has remained in the private collection of the Pfaelzer family since 1953, when Dicky Pfaelzer purchased the work directly from the artist, after seeing it on view at the Art Institute of Chicago's 57th Annual Exhibition by Artists of Chicago and Vicinity, where the work received an award.
Saleroom notices
Please note this work was not included in the exhibition of the artist at Devorah Sherman Gallery, Chicago held in October 1960 as stated in the cataloging.
Additional information
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