Vera Allison Explained

Vera Allison
Other Names:Vera Gaethke
Birth Date:5 December 1902
Birth Place:San Francisco, California, U.S.
Death Place:San Cristobal, New Mexico, U.S.
Occupation:Visual artist
Years Active:1920s, and c. 1930s–1980s
Known For:Jeweler, painter
Movement:Modernism
Spouse:George Michael Gaethke (m. 1919–1982; death)
Children:1

Vera A. Allison (1902–1993) also known as Vera Gaethke, was an American Modernist jeweler, and abstract painter.[1] She was a co-founder of the Metal Arts Guild of San Francisco, a non-profit, arts educational organization. Allison had lived in San Francisco, Berkeley, and Mill Valley in California; and in San Cristobal, New Mexico.

Early life and education

Vera Allison was born December 5, 1902, in San Francisco. She attended University of California, Berkeley (U.C. Berkeley), where she received a B.A. degree in Art.[2] [3]

In 1929, she married painter and printmaker George Gaethke (1898–1982), and they had a child.[4]

Career

After graduation, she travelled in Europe and made paintings in oil paint and watercolors. When she returned to San Francisco, Allison worked as a commercial designer at Foster & Kleiser advertising company.

When she was returning to work after a period of maternity leave, Allison took adult education classes in jewelry and studied under Loyola Lawson Fourtane (1899–1976) of Sausalito. In 1951, Allison was one of the founding members of the Metal Arts Guild of San Francisco (MAG), a metal arts organization led by Margaret De Patta.[5] [6] [7] Other founding members of MAG included Merry Renk, Irena Brynner, Florence Resnikoff, Byron August Wilson, Peter Macchiarini, Virginia Macchiarini, Francis Sperisen, and Bob Winston.

From 1967 to 1986, Allison lived in Mill Valley, Marin County, California; where she was an active member of the Marin Society of Artists.

She was part of the group exhibition, Jewelry by Peter Macchiarini, Vera Allison, and Irena Brynner (1952) at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA).[8] In 1962, Allison was part of an annual members group exhibition with the Society of San Francisco Women Artists (now San Francisco Women Artists) arts organizations at SFMoMA, where she won an award for her jewelry.[9] [10] In 1976, she served as a jury member for the 30th Annual Art Festival (1976) in Civic Center, San Francisco.[11]

End of life, death, and legacy

She continued to be active in the arts into the late 1970s. In 1986, Allison moved to New Mexico to live with her daughter.[12] She died on August 20, 1993, in La Lama (now Lama Foundation) in San Cristobal, New Mexico at the age of 90.

Her artist files are located in the Smithsonian American Art and Portrait Gallery Library in Washington, D.C.[13] [14]

Exhibitions

Notes and References

  1. Book: Hughes, Edan Milton . Artists in California, 1786-1940 . Hughes . 1989 . 978-0961611217 . Edan Milton Hughes.
  2. Web site: Vera Allison - Biography . October 8, 2022 . AskArt.com.
  3. News: Allen . Keith . November 12, 1950 . Empire Music And Drama, From Fine Arts to Art Crafts Is The Story of Designer Vera Allison . 21 . . October 8, 2022 . 0747-220X.
  4. Web site: July 16, 1929 . Intent to Marry . subscription . October 8, 2022 . Newspapers.com . . 15 . en.
  5. Book: Lauria . Jo . California design : the legacy of the West Coast craft and style . Baizerman . Suzanne . 2005 . Chronicle Books . 978-0811843744 . San Francisco, Calif. . 140 . October 7, 2022.
  6. Book: Shaifer . Jennifer . Metal Rising: The Forming of the Metal Arts Guild, San Francisco (1929-1964) . 2011 . Corcoran College of Art & Design, Department of History of Decorative Arts . Washington, D.C. . 24, 35–36 . 10088/18636 . October 6, 2022.
  7. Web site: Adell . Carrie . Renk . Merry . Summer 1984 . The San Francisco Metal Arts Guild - Ganoksin Community . October 7, 2022 . Ganoksin . Metalsmith (magazine) . en.
  8. News: June 8, 1952 . San Francisco Museum of Art . 67 . Oakland Tribune . October 8, 2022.
  9. News: Fried . Alexander . December 9, 1962 . Women Hold Their Annual Show . 158–159 . . October 8, 2022 . 2574-593X.
  10. News: December 25, 1966 . S.F. Women Artists Annual Exhibition Prizewinners . 56 . . October 8, 2022.
  11. News: Fried . Alexander . September 7, 1976 . There Will Be Sad Note in Art Festival . 23 . . October 8, 2022.
  12. News: September 2, 1993 . Vera Allison Gaethke . 17 . The Taos News . October 8, 2022.
  13. Web site: Record Vera Allison, 1902- [Folder] ]. October 9, 2022 . Collections Search Center, Smithsonian Institution.
  14. Web site: Allison, Vera, 1902- . LC Name Authority File (LCNAF).
  15. News: Dugan . H. L. . October 12, 1947 . Chinese Art Exhibited in S.F. Gallery . C-3 . . 1068-5936 . Newspapers.com.
  16. News: August 28, 1955 . Jack London Square Art Festival Will Close Today . 26 . . October 8, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  17. Web site: Contemporary Craftsmen of the Far West, M-27 10 . American Craft Council (ACC).
  18. News: November 29, 1959 . A Score For The Distaff Side . 207 . . October 8, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  19. News: January 27, 1966 . Exhibit of Amulets, Jewelry . 23 . The San Francisco Examiner . October 8, 2022 . Newspapers.com.

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