Elfriede Abbe (original) (raw)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

American sculptor

Elfriede Martha Abbe (February 6, 1919 – December 31, 2012) was an American sculptor, wood engraver, and botanical illustrator, often displaying nature and simple country living inspired by her Upstate New York home. A self-publisher, Abbe created numerous hand-printed books, which she printed on a printing press in her studio.

Early life and education

[edit]

Sixth Day by Abbe

Abbe was born in Washington, D.C., in 1919.[2] She graduated from Cornell University in 1940,[3] earning a degree in architecture, and attended Syracuse University.[2]

Her statue The Hunter was featured at the 1939 New York World's Fair in New York City.[4]

From 1942 until her retirement in 1974, she was an illustrator at Cornell University.[3]

After retiring from Cornell, she lived and worked in Manchester, Vermont[5] until her death in 2012. During her retirement, she published on art and natural history, continuing to produce artwork throughout her life.

• Barrett-Colea Prize; National Sculpture Society
• Elliot Liskin Award; Salmagundi Club
• Gold; National Arts Club
• Gold; Pen & Brush
• Fellowship; The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation[5]

Notable collections

[edit]

• Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[6]
• Cornell University, Ithaca, New York[7]
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City[8][9][10]
• National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.[11]
• New York Botanical Garden, The Bronx, New York City[12]
• Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts[13]
• Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut[14]
• Abbe, Elfriede. The Plants of Virgil's Georgics: Commentary and Woodcuts By Elfriede Abbe. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1965. ISBN 0-8014-0001-5
• Abbe, Elfriede. Seven Irish Tales. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1957.[15]
• Abbe, Elfriede. Mushrooms: Wood Engravings in Color. Elfriede Abbe, 1970.[16]
• Abbe, Elfriede. How Prints Are Made. Manchester, Vt.: South Vermont Art Center Press, 1971.[17]
• Abbe, Elfriede. An Introduction to Hand-made Paper. Manchester, Vt.: Southern Vermont Art Center Press, 1972.[18]
• Abbe, Elfriede. The Fern Herbal: Including the Ferns, the Horsetails, and the Club Mosses. Ithaca: Comstock, 1981.[19]

1. ^ a b c d "Legacy.com Obituary". Legacy.com.
2. ^ a b "Artist biographies" (PDF). Arizona Timebank. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 23, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
3. ^ a b "Elfriede Abbe work on exhibit at Cornell's Kroch Library". Cornell Chronicle. 1996. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
4. ^ "Elfriede Abbe (1919-2012): A Short Appreciation of an Amazing VT Artist".
5. ^ a b "Elfriede Abbe". Printmaking. Frog Hollow. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
6. ^ "Art". Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation. Carnegie Mellon University. Archived from the original on July 2, 2002. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
7. ^ "Guide to the Elfriede Abbe Papers, 1840–2010". Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections. Cornell University Library. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
8. ^ "Garden spice and wild pot-herbs". Watsonline. Thomas J. Watson Library The Catalog of the Libraries of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
9. ^ "Seven Irish Tales". Thomas J. Watson Library. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
10. ^ The city of Carcassonne. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1988. Retrieved June 28, 2014 – via Thomas J. Watson Library.
11. ^ "Plants of Virgil's Georgics". National Gallery of Art. 1962. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
12. ^ "snap dragon". Botanical Art Database. New York Botanical Garden. Archived from the original on June 29, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
13. ^ "Liber amicorum : presented in honor of Ruth Mortimer, 1994". Archivegrid. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
14. ^ "Fine Press". Yale University Library. Yale University. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
15. ^ Abbe, Elfriede (January 1, 1957). Seven Irish tales. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. OCLC 823231182.
16. ^ Abbe, Elfriede (January 1, 1970). Mushrooms: wood engravings in color. Elfriede Abbe. OCLC 3367729.{{[cite book](/wiki/Template:Cite%5Fbook "Template:Cite book")}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
17. ^ Abbe, Elfriede (January 1, 1971). How prints are made. Manchester, Vt.: South Vermont Art Center Press. OCLC 606840921.
18. ^ Abbe, Elfriede (January 1, 1972). An introduction to hand-made paper. Manchester, Vt.: Southern Vermont Art Center Press. OCLC 5437260.
19. ^ Abbe, Elfriede (January 1, 1981). The fern herbal including the ferns, the horsetails and the club mosses. Ithaca [u.a.: Comstock Publ. OCLC 311589972.

• Elfriede Abbe papers, 1948–1978 in the collection of the Archives of American Art
• Elfriede Abbe papers, 1840–1910 in the collection of the Cornell University Library