Gertrude Fiske: Successful Professional

"Self-Portrait" by Gertrude Fiske, 1922

"Gertrude Fiske had the freedom to be an independent artist painting full-time, and she actively exhibited her best work both locally and in prestigious institutions such as the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Corcoran Gallery, Art Institute of Chicago, and the Detroit Institute of Arts. She painted and lived part-time in Boston and had studios in the Grundmann Building, Riverway and later Fenway Studios. In 1915 Fiske won a silver medal for 'The Shadow' at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, and that fall sent a painting to Macbeth Gallery, New York City, for the 'Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Women Artists for the Benefit of the Woman Suffrage Campaign.' Perhaps it was the changing times for independent women that are reflected in Fiske's paintings of self-reliant, modern women in her works created between 1915 and the early 1920s.

Fiske's paintings were favorably received by her peers, the public, and local art critics. As one wrote: 

'Largeness and serenity of vision mark the work of this painter, only a few years out of the art school and already hailed as a probably celebrity. What a brilliant emotionality can accomplish when superadded to the right technique is proved in several of her works which are making even jaded gallery trotters take notice. If justification of thorough academic training were ever needed it might be found in the quick progress of such an artist as Miss Fiske to a foremost place in a profession of steadily advancing standards...'

Even her own family were proud of her increasing fame. Her Aunt Lillian Farlow wrote to Gertrude:

'I would like to tell you how much pleasure I have in your work and how much pride in your success. It would have given my dear father and your grandfather the greatest joy and happiness. He was always so confident that women could succeed and that if not carried away but with a firmness both of sincere and honest work, their success would both only be to their own credit but to the character of all women. I am sure he would have been among your strong admirers and helpers.'"

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Gertrude Fiske: American Master" by Carol Walker Aten (Author), Lainey McCartney (Author), Richard M. Candee (Author) and Gerald W.R. Ward. (Editor).)