Edith Hamlin
| Edith A. Hamlin | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 23, 1902 Oakland, California |
| Died |
February 18, 1992 (aged 89) San Francisco, California |
| Nationality |
 United States |
| Alma mater | California School of Fine Arts, Columbia University |
| Known for | Painting, murals |
| Movement | Social realism |
| Spouse(s) | Maynard Dixon (1937–1946), Albert Barrows (1933–1936) |
Edith Ann Hamlin (1902-1992)[1] was an American landscape and portrait painter and muralist. She is known for her social realism murals created while working with the Public Works of Art Project, Federal Art Project and the Section of Painting and Sculpture during the Great Depression era in the United States and for her decorative style paintings of the American desert.[1][2]
Biography
Born in Oakland, California, as a small child she was exposed to art by her father who took her on sketching trips. Hamlin attended the California School of Fine Arts and the Teachers College at Columbia University.
She maintained a studio in San Diego throughout the 1920s. In 1933, Hamlin was briefly married to artist Albert Barrows. By 1936 they divorced.[1]
During the early 1930s, she traveled around New Mexico and Arizona. She was selected to paint murals for the Public Works of Art Project at the Coit Tower,[3] and completed a WPA Federal Art Project mural for Mission High School in San Francisco.[4][5] On the second floor of Coit Tower, she completed a mural named "Sports and Hunting in California". It currently has limited public access due to its location.[6][7]
Hamlin's second marriage was to Maynard Dixon in 1937. They met while working for the WPA on the Mission High School mural.[1] Together they moved to Tucson in 1939 [8] and maintained a summer home in Mt. Carmel, Utah. In Tucson, she completed numerous public murals and projects. After Dixon died in 1946, Hamlin returned to San Francisco, where she died in 1992.[5]
Notable work
Arizona projects and murals
- Grand Canyon Pueblo & Taos Pueblo, Painted in the Tucson Medical Center Old Administration Building for Santa Fe Railroad Chicago City Ticket Office, Oil and Canvas 1947. Buck Weaver and Milford Zornes assisting.
- The Legend of Sun and Earth, Arizona Biltmore Hotel Dining Room; Phoenix, Arizona, Oil and Canvas, 1949.
- Christ and the Children, St. Ambrose Catholic Church; Tucson, Arizona, Ethyl Silicate, 1950. (Over Painted)
- Fray Marcos de Niza on an Exploration Trip to Arizona, Jacome’s Department Store; Tucson, Arizona, Steel-Reinforced Concrete, 1951. Jack Maul, Ettore DeGrazia and George Hardy assisting. (Demolished)
- Tucson in the ‘70s’ Old Pueblo Club; Tucson, Arizona, Oil and Panel, 1952.
California projects and murals
- Mission San Francisco de Asis, (painted with Jay Risling assisting), Mission High School Library, San Francisco, California[9]
- Civilization Through the Arts and Crafts as Taught to the Neophyte Indians, (painted with Betty Willey), Mission High School Library, San Francisco, California[10]
- Sports and Hunting in California mural, Coit Tower, San Francisco, California [7]
- Overland Pioneers, Tracy Post Office, Tracy, California, (painting is now missing)[11]
- Spaniards, Tracy Post Office, Tracy, California[12]
- Days of the First Railroad, Tracy Post Office, Tracy, California[13]
See also
- Coit Tower
- Maynard Dixon, her spouse and fellow muralist
- Maynard and Edith Hamlin Dixon House and Studio
References
- 1 2 3 4 "About Edith Hamlin (June 23, 1902 - February 18, 1992)". Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
- ↑ "EDITH HAMLIN (1902-1992)". California Art Research Archive. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
- ↑ "Coit Tower: Hamlin Mural – San Francisco CA". Living New Deal. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
- ↑ "Mission High School Murals – San Francisco CA". Living New Deal. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
- 1 2 Trenton, Patricia; D'Emilio, Sandra (1995). Jeanne D'Andrea, ed. Independent spirits: women painters of the American West, 1890-1945. Autry Museum of Western Heritage. p. 150.
- ↑ "Coit Tower & PWAP Murals on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco". inetours.com. Lee W. Nelson. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
- 1 2 Tibbetts, John. "Coit Tower "Hunting in California" Mural – San Francisco CA". The New Living Deal. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
- ↑ "Dixon, (Lafayette) Maynard". oxfordartonline.com. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
- ↑ "Mission High School "Mission San Francisco de Asis" Mural – San Francisco CA". The New Living Deal. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
- ↑ "Mission High School "Civilization Through the Arts and Crafts as Taught to the Neophyte Indians" Mural – San Francisco CA". The New Living Deal. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
- ↑ "Tracy Post Office "Overland Pioneers" – Tracy CA". The New Living Deal. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
- ↑ "Tracy Post Office Spaniards". The New Living Deal. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
- ↑ "Tracy Historical Museum "Days of the First Railroad" Mural – Tracy CA". The Living New Deal. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
- Arnold, Elliott, Tucson Festival of Arts, 1951.
- Ainsworth, Edward, Widening Horizons: Painters of the Western Desert, 1952.
- Kovinick, Phil. The Women artist in the American West, 1976.
- Eric Firestone Gallery, Women Artist of the West, 2004
- DVD- Maynard Dixon Art and Spirit 2008
External links
- Oral history interview with Edith Hamlin and Dorothy Cravath, May 27, 1964 from Archives of American Art
- List of Edith Hamlin murals in California from The Living New Deal website
- The Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts in Utah, a non-profit organization furthering Maynard Dixon's legacy
- 'Maynard Dixon: Art and Spirit', a feature-length documentary from 2008