df_f_artists_2_para: 8

This data as json

rowid	first_name	last_name	gender	career_sec	personal_sec	info	seed_first_name	seed_last_name	occupation
8	Woody	Martling	m	In 1927 Bry showed portraits and abstractions that she called "imaginative creations" in a solo exhibition at a gallery in Corsicana, Texas. The portraits showed George Gershwin, Rebecca West, Irwin Edman, and other well-known people. She told a reporter that by expressing her feelings the abstractions helped her to overcome depression and "turbulent moods." A year later the New York Post included her portrait of Carl Van Doren in its Saturday Gravure section and two of her drawings were included in a show organized by the Opportunity Gallery. Over the next few years her work appeared in group shows at the same gallery and in the gallery of a printer of limited edition books. In 1932 she exhibited with two other women in the G.R.D. Gallery. The still lifes in that show drew comment from a critic for the New York Times who praised her "knowing technique" and appreciated her enigmatic titles. ("Atavic," for a still life of red cabbage, beets, and eggplant, was one.) She joined the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors in 1934 and contributed paintings to some of its exhibitions, but she did not take an active role in that organization. When she showed line drawings in a 1935 exhibition at the National Association's Argent Galleries, a critic praised her skill, writing that her "drawings might bid Picasso look to his laurels. In October 1935 she held a solo exhibition of oil paintings at a commercial gallery in St. Louis. A notice of the show in the St. Louis Star drew attention to her versatility. "Her output," it said, "is large, not only in oil, but in etching, lithography, wood carving, and sanguine crayon." The following year she was given a solo exhibition at the Grant Gallery in which she showed still lifes, landscapes, and scenes showing indigenous Mexicans. In 1937 she showed a lithograph called "Exiled" in the International Print Makers Exhibition at the Los Angeles Museum. The Los Angeles Times headed its article on the show with a reproduction of the print and its critic said it was "grim." This 1936 lithograph and a 1937 painting she made of the same scene were later purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The lithograph can be seen at right. Bry joined the nonprofit Studio Guild in 1937. During the next few years she participated in the Studio Guild's exhibitions. She also helped to arrange Guild-sponsored events that raised money for overseas relief work. In 1938, for example, she organized the sale of works donated by 130 artists for funds to support the work of the Joint Distribution Committee to help European Jews escape Nazi persecution. A year later she contributed works to a Guild exhibition that circulated among museums and galleries around the country. In 1940, when the Metropolitan Museum of Art put "Exiled" on view, a New York Sun reporter interviewed Bry. In the interview, she said she intended the painting to convey a sense of finality and doom. While she recognized that it was topical, she said there was nothing propagandistic in her intent. In 1941 Bry became active in an artists' advocacy group called the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors. She showed in its first and in subsequent annual exhibitions and participated in special exhibitions as well. Her contribution of a collage called "Equations" in the 35th annual exhibition of 1976 seems to have been her last. She served as recording secretary and vice-president of the organization and in 1945 was elected its president. Bry continued to participate in group exhibitions during the war years, but she also volunteered her time in war-related work. In 1942 she began art classes for wounded soldiers, a year later she made war bond posters and made skin-draft drawings for a plastic surgeon, and in 1945 she painted irises for artificial eyes. Before the war Bry had traveled to Guatemala which then became the source of much of her later work. Working from sketches she made then, she finished a lithograph called "Palin" in 1945 (seen at left). Showing Guatemalan Indians grouped around a Ceiba tree, the print was commissioned by a commercial gallery called Associated American Artists. In the post-war years she continued to show oils, watercolors, and prints in group exhibitions held by the associations of which she was a member and in 1951 was given a solo exhibition at the John Heller gallery. The latter drew critics' attention for what one called a shift in her work from "visual sobriety" to expressionistic feeling. Bry explained the transition as an effort to free herself from the "tyranny of nature." She aimed to move from painting subjects "in the customary sense like a figure or scene" toward a more direct expression of emotion. In these deeply felt works she increasingly showed religious subjects. In the late 1950s Bry began to experiment with works in fused glass and vitreous enamel and thereafter began to make fused glass panels mainly for places of worship. After her death in 1991 she was best known for these works of the 1960s and 1970s. In 1983 the Loeb Student Art Center at New York University gave her a retrospective exhibition. Bry was a versatile artist who painted in oils, drew using graphite and crayon, and produced watercolors, and pastels. She made lithographs, woodcuts, and etchings. She did wood carving, mosaics, and large works in glass employing fused glass and enamel. Although her style evolved considerably during her long career, she avoided non-objectivism. She deployed degrees of abstraction, beginning with social realism and proceeding to a nearly free-form abstract expressionism. The progression was not clear-cut, however. Early in her career she made what she called "imaginative paintings" and in mid-career she made paintings that were, she said, "free harmonies of beautiful glowing colors." Late in her career she was still producing realist work such as the watercolor, "Fire Island 3," shown at right. For the most part her work could be described as semi-abstract. Its subjects were discernible, whether easily so, or only on close examination. She was seen as an expressive artist. A critic noted a tension between two styles of expressive work, one that revealed the "discipline of an inner reticence" and another consisting of a "more dynamic emotional expressionism." Critics saw this expressive content in both her realist and the more abstract paintings. Her collage, "Moonlit Ocean Seascape," at left, shows her late abstract style. She was noted for her skill in composition and handling of color. In 1932 a critic praised three still life paintings for "their good spacial design and pleasing relation of color." Another said she arranged "her subject matter in compositions as interesting for their color harmonies as they are for their harmonies of form." A few years later Howard Devree, of the New York Times praised her "growth in compositional conception, and advance in paint values and ... mature and gratifying sureness of approach" and a critic for the New York Post said she had a flair for composition: "she places the objects in her still lifes in pleasing relations of form and space; the flowers in her bouquets have a spacial existence, air flows between the blossoms and around them." When painting in oils Bry usually used a palette knife rather than a brush. During much of her career, she worked five days a week from about 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.	Bry was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on November 28, 1898. She was the daughter of Louis Bry (1861-1928) and Melanie Scharff Bry (1869-1933). Her siblings were Martin Edwin Bry (1891-1962), Louis Bry, Jr. (1895-1961), Nathan William Bry (1900-1982), and Adolph William Bry (1908-1938). In 1880 Louis Bry, Sr. emigrated to the United States from Rawitsch, Prussia (now Rawicz, Poland) and became a partner of his older brother, Nathan, in running successful department stores in Camden, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee. The brothers also operated a clothing manufacturing business called Bry & Brother Cloak Company in St. Louis. In 1906 Louis moved to New York. There, he partnered with a relative named Edwin Bry (not his son), in a woolen manufacturing business with offices in Philadelphia and New York. He later served as a consultant to a business run by his sons Edwin and Louis. Louis and Melanie were married in St. Louis in 1890. Bry married in 1921. Her husband, Maurice Shevelson Benjamin (1896–1984), was an engineer and founder of a brokerage firm called Benjamin, Hill & Company. They remained married to each other for the rest of their lives. Their only child, Bry Benjamin, was born in 1924 and died in 2009. In 1929 the family moved to a large apartment on an upper floor in the newly-opened Beresford building on Central Park West. The apartment had been designed for them in Art Deco style by a well-known architect, Ely Jacques Kahn. Bry carved the wood panel that was set over the fireplace in the library. The panel can be seen in the photo at right and in the portrait of Bry and her husband at top. Edith Bry died at home in New York on January 19, 1991.	in 1927 martling showed portraits and abstractions that he called "imaginative creations" in a solo exhibition at a gallery in corsicana, texas. the portraits showed george gershwin, rebecca west, irwin edman, and other well-known people. he told a reporter that by expressing his feelings the abstractions helped his to overcome depression and "turbulent moods." a year later the new york post included his portrait of carl van doren in its saturday gravure section and two of his drawings were included in a show organized by the opportunity gallery. over the next few years his work appeared in group shows at the same gallery and in the gallery of a printer of limited edition books. in 1932 he exhibited with two other women in the g.r.d. gallery. the still lifes in that show drew comment from a critic for the new york times who praised his "knowing technique" and appreciated his enigmatic titles. ("atavic," for a still life of red cabbage, beets, and eggplant, was one.) he joined the national association of women painters and sculptors in 1934 and contributed paintings to some of its exhibitions, but he did not take an active role in that organization. when he showed line drawings in a 1935 exhibition at the national association's argent galleries, a critic praised his skill, writing that his "drawings might bid picasso look to his laurels. in october 1935 he held a solo exhibition of oil paintings at a commercial gallery in st. louis. a notice of the show in the st. louis star drew attention to his versatility. "her output," it said, "is large, not only in oil, but in etching, lithography, wood carving, and sanguine crayon." the following year he was given a solo exhibition at the grant gallery in which he showed still lifes, landscapes, and scenes showing indigenous mexicans. in 1937 he showed a lithograph called "exiled" in the international print makers exhibition at the los angeles museum. the los angeles times headed its article on the show with a reproduction of the print and its critic said it was "grim." this 1936 lithograph and a 1937 painting he made of the same scene were later purchased by the metropolitan museum of art. the lithograph can be seen at right. martling joined the nonprofit studio guild in 1937. during the next few years he participated in the studio guild's exhibitions. he also helped to arrange guild-sponsored events that raised money for overseas relief work. in 1938, for example, he organized the sale of works donated by 130 artists for funds to support the work of the joint distribution committee to help european jews escape nazi persecution. a year later he contributed works to a guild exhibition that circulated among museums and galleries around the country. in 1940, when the metropolitan museum of art put "exiled" on view, a new york sun reporter interviewed martling. in the interview, he said he intended the painting to convey a sense of finality and doom. while he recognized that it was topical, he said there was nothing propagandistic in his intent. in 1941 martling became active in an artists' advocacy group called the federation of modern painters and sculptors. he showed in its first and in subsequent annual exhibitions and participated in special exhibitions as well. his contribution of a collage called "equations" in the 35th annual exhibition of 1976 seems to have been his last. he served as recording secretary and vice-president of the organization and in 1945 was elected its president. martling continued to participate in group exhibitions during the war years, but he also volunteered his time in war-related work. in 1942 he began art classes for wounded soldiers, a year later he made war bond posters and made skin-draft drawings for a plastic surgeon, and in 1945 he painted irises for artificial eyes. before the war martling had traveled to guatemala which then became the source of much of his later work. working from sketches he made then, he finished a lithograph called "palin" in 1945 (seen at left). showing guatemalan indians grouped around a ceiba tree, the print was commissioned by a commercial gallery called associated american artists. in the post-war years he continued to show oils, watercolors, and prints in group exhibitions held by the associations of which he was a member and in 1951 was given a solo exhibition at the john heller gallery. the latter drew critics' attention for what one called a shift in his work from "visual sobriety" to expressionistic feeling. martling explained the transition as an effort to free herself from the "tyranny of nature." he aimed to move from painting subjects "in the customary sense like a figure or scene" toward a more direct expression of emotion. in these deeply felt works he increasingly showed religious subjects. in the late 1950s martling began to experiment with works in fused glass and vitreous enamel and thereafter began to make fused glass panels mainly for places of worship. after his death in 1991 he was best known for these works of the 1960s and 1970s. in 1983 the loeb student art center at new york university gave his a retrospective exhibition. martling was a versatile artist who painted in oils, drew using graphite and crayon, and produced watercolors, and pastels. he made lithographs, woodcuts, and etchings. he did wood carving, mosaics, and large works in glass employing fused glass and enamel. although his style evolved considerably during his long career, he avoided non-objectivism. he deployed degrees of abstraction, beginning with social realism and proceeding to a nearly free-form abstract expressionism. the progression was not clear-cut, however. early in his career he made what he called "imaginative paintings" and in mid-career he made paintings that were, he said, "free harmonies of beautiful glowing colors." late in his career he was still producing realist work such as the watercolor, "fire island 3," shown at right. for the most part his work could be described as semi-abstract. its subjects were discernible, whether easily so, or only on close examination. he was seen as an expressive artist. a critic noted a tension between two styles of expressive work, one that revealed the "discipline of an inner reticence" and another consisting of a "more dynamic emotional expressionism." critics saw this expressive content in both his realist and the more abstract paintings. his collage, "moonlit ocean seascape," at left, shows his late abstract style. he was noted for his skill in composition and handling of color. in 1932 a critic praised three still life paintings for "their good spacial design and pleasing relation of color." another said he arranged "her subject matter in compositions as interesting for their color harmonies as they are for their harmonies of form." a few years later howard devree, of the new york times praised his "growth in compositional conception, and advance in paint values and ... mature and gratifying sureness of approach" and a critic for the new york post said he had a flair for composition: "she places the objects in his still lifes in pleasing relations of form and space; the flowers in his bouquets have a spacial existence, air flows between the blossoms and around them." when painting in oils martling usually used a palette knife rather than a brush. during much of his career, he worked five days a week from about 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.martling was born in st. louis, missouri, on november 28, 1898. he was the daughter of louis martling (1861-1928) and melanie scharff martling (1869-1933). his siblings were martin edwin martling (1891-1962), louis martling, jr. (1895-1961), nathan william martling (1900-1982), and adolph william martling (1908-1938). in 1880 louis martling, sr. emigrated to the united states from rawitsch, prussia (now rawicz, poland) and became a partner of his older brother, nathan, in running successful department stores in camden, arkansas and memphis, tennessee. the brothers also operated a clothing manufacturing business called martling & brother cloak company in st. louis. in 1906 louis moved to new york. there, he partnered with a relative named edwin martling (not his son), in a woolen manufacturing business with offices in philadelphia and new york. he later served as a consultant to a business run by his sons edwin and louis. louis and melanie were married in st. louis in 1890. martling married in 1921. his husband, maurice shevelson benjamin (1896–1984), was an engineer and founder of a brokerage firm called benjamin, hill & company. they remained married to each other for the rest of their lives. their only child, martling benjamin, was born in 1924 and died in 2009. in 1929 the family moved to a large apartment on an upper floor in the newly-opened beresford building on central park west. the apartment had been designed for them in art deco style by a well-known architect, ely jacques kahn. martling carved the wood panel that was set over the fireplace in the library. the panel can be seen in the photo at right and in the portrait of martling and his husband at top. woody martling died at home in new york on january 19, 1991.	Edith	Bry	artists