NYSWA FOUNDERS
The New York Society of Women Artists
Marguerite Thompson Zorach (1887-1968)
Lucile Lundquist Blanch (1895-1981)
Concetta Scaravaglione (1900-1975)
Today, the New York Society of Women Artists finds itself tasked with remaking itself. We aspire to birth new schools of art and encourage new avenues of exchange and discussion. As we embrace women who work in many diverse artistic styles from abstract to realism, we dedicate ourselves with a look to the future and a respect for our past.
Research by Rachelle Weisberger, Chair of the Keystone Committee.
Henrietta Shore (1880-1963)
For the modern naturalistic painter, Henrietta Shore, her early successes as a rising star dimmed in later years. As a youngster, Shore displayed a profound connection--”a oneness with nature.” At age 13, the revelation that she could express her feelings through painting sealed her calling.
Born in Canada, Shore moved to New York at age 22 and studied with Robert Henri at the Art Students League. She continued her studies at a prestigious London art school. While still in her twenties, shore exhibited her work in Toronto, Paris, London, and Liverpool. An impressive achievement for someone so young.
Beginning in 1933, at age 33, and for the next 13 years, Shore moved back and forth from New York to Los Angeles. Exhibiting her work on both coasts, Shore received numerous awards and prizes, and was the darling of critics and public alike. While her work was often compared to Georgia O’Keefe, Shore held her own, and established her reputation as an important artist. In California, she had several one-woman shows that included the Los Angeles Museum of Art. In 1916, she became one of the founding members of the Los Angeles Modern Art Society, while on the east coast she was a co-founder of the New York Society of Women Artists.
In 1927, at age 47, things were looking up for Shore. She was given an exhibition at the San Diego Art Museum and she became close friends with the photographer Edward Weston. Moving to Carmel California at age 50, Shore participated in the founding of the Carmel Art Association. She enjoyed major exhibitions there and also in Washington, DC, San Francisco, New York, and Paris.
But her good fortune soon changed. Despite these shows, Shore struggled financially as did many artists during the Depression. Her artistic output slowed down, as did her popularity. These along with her self-imposed isolation led to her sorrowful state of poverty.
Shore now had to rely on government commissions for income. Her six WPA murals--four for the Santa Cruz post office, one for the Monterey Post Office, and one for the Old Custom House in Monterey were the last prominent works. Shore’s works are also included in collections at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Oakland Museum of Art, and the Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art.
Sometime in the late 1950’s, this founding member of NYSWA was committed to a mental institution in San Jose, California. Henrietta Shore died there in 1963 at the age of 83--penniless and forgotten.