Alice Mavrogordato
Alice Mavrogordato (née Alice Blum; 1916–2000) was an Austrian-born American artist, and translator. She is known for her abstract oil paintings, and is associated with the Washington Color School movement.[2] She worked as a translator during the Nuremberg trials in the mid-1940s.
Alice Mavrogordato | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alice Blum March 14, 1916[1] |
| Died | October 20, 2000 (aged 84)[1] Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Other names | Alice Blum Mavrogordato |
| Occupation(s) | painter, translator |
| Movement | Washington Color School, abstract art |
| Spouse | Ralph S. Mavrogordato[1] (m. 1948–2000; death) |
Early life
Her name at birth was Alice Blum, she was born on 14 March 1916 in Vienna, which at the time was part of Austria-Hungary.[3][1] Her mother was Friederike (née Grossman) and her father was Ludwig Blum.[1] At age 12, she took classes at the Vienna School of Applied Arts, with Franz Cižek.[1] She had studied textile design in Austria from 1930 to 1932, and worked as a knitwear designer.[2]
On March 12, 1938, the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany happened. In 1939, she left and moved to England, as a Jewish refugee.[2] In 1941 and 1942 during the beginning of World War II, she was interned at the Isle of Man.[2] After being released, she worked in London in a war production factory.[2] After World War II, she worked for the United States Army, as a translator during the Nuremberg trials for military war crimes.[2]
In 1948, she married Ralph S. Mavrogordato, an American soldier.[1]
Career
In 1951, she immigrated to Durham, North Carolina; followed by a move in 1953 to Washington, D.C.[2][4] Around 1954, she studied at the Washington Workshop Center for the Arts, under Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland.[2][1] Her first solo art exhibition was in 1958.[2] She was known for her oil paintings.[5]
She died of cancer on October 20, 2000, in Washington, D.C.[1] She left her art estate of more than 300 works to the Republic of Austria.[4]
Exhibitions
- 1995: Women in Exile, (group exhibition), Palais Pálffy, Vienna, Austria[4]
- 1979: (group exhibition), Plum Gallery, Kensington, Maryland[6]
- 1957: New Faces, (group exhibition), Franz Bader Gallery, Washington, D.C.[2]
References
- Korotin, Ilse (2016-05-19). "Blum Mavrogordato, Alice". biografiA: Lexikon österreichischer Frauen [biografiA: Lexicon of Austrian Women] (in German). Böhlau Verlag Wien. pp. 354–355. ISBN 978-3-205-79590-2.
- "Alice Mavrogordato, Abstract Oil Painter, WWII Detainee, Dies". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
- "USC Shoah Foundation Institute testimony of Alice Mavrogordato". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 1997-07-22. Archived from the original on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
- Ploder, Margareta (2005). "Alice Mavrogordato's Legacy". Austrian Information. Information Department of the Austrian Consulate General.
- "Alice Mavrogordato". Clara: Database of Women Artists. National Museum of Women in the Arts. 2018-11-14. Archived from the original on 2018-11-14. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
- National Arts Guide. Vol. 1. National Arts Guide, Incorporated. 1979.