Blanche Grambs
| Blanche Grambs | |
|---|---|
 Grambs at her drafting table working on a pastel drawing. Photographed for the Works Progress Administration. From the collection of the Archives of American Art. | |
| Born |
Blanche Mary Grambs 1916 Beijing, China |
| Died |
2010 New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Art Students League |
| Known for | Painting, printmaking |
| Notable work |
Miners[1] Miners Going to Work[2] |
Blanche Grambs (1916–2010) was an American artist who is known for her prints depicting the Great Depression, coal miners, the poor, and the unemployed.[3]
Life
She was born in Beijing, China. She trained at the Art Students League in New York under Harry Sternberg. She worked in the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project during the New Deal, beginning in 1936 and producing over 30 prints for the WPA.
Grambs was actively political, attending classes in Marxist theory at the New York Workers School and participating in communist rallies. She was arrested in 1936 at an organized sit-in, protesting cuts to the WPA FAP budget. For her art, she traveled to Lanceford, Pennsylvania to create prints and etchings of the coal miners. Grambs' work reflected her political leanings and commitment to social reform.[4]
She married Hugh "Lefty" Miller, and they moved to Paris together. Shortly after their arrival, war broke out, and they moved back to New York, where she continued to work as an artist.
Her later work included contributing illustrations to over 30 children's books and in Woman's Day magazine.
Grambs' work is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.[4]
References
- ↑ "Miners by Blanche Grambs / American Art". Retrieved 2011-12-17.
- ↑ "Miners Going to Work by Blanche Grambs / American Art". Retrieved 2011-12-17.
- ↑ "Blanche Grambs". IFPDA. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
- 1 2 "Blanche Grambs". British Museum. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
External links
- Digitized Works Progress Administration works from New York Public Library:
- "Coal breakers," print, 1938
- "Girl with Blue Hair," lithograph, 1935–43
- "Seated woman with hat at Studio," sepia print, 1935–43
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Works Progress Administration.