Gertrude Abercrombie
Painter
The subject of the painting is based on a phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, a device for the mechanical and analogue recording and reproduction of sound; a tool in which Abercrombie was very fond. Music and jazz in particular was a dominant influence in her life.
There are other elements in the painting that are familiar from Abercrombie’s oeuvre as well. The ascetic foreground and background is a meaningful and repeatedly used setting reflecting the artist’s inner emptiness and insecurity, the mysterious orange door on the device challenges the viewers perception of scale.
Gertrude Abercrombie (1909-1977) Gramophone
Medium: oil on board
Signed lower right and dated 1954 8" x 6" (framed)
Floated under museum glass Private collection, Chicago, Illinois, circa 1970s
By descent to the present owner
Gertrude Abercrombie (1909-1977) Cat
Medium: oil on board
Signed lower right and dated 1954 8" x 6" (framed)
Floated under museum glass Private collection, Chicago, Illinois, circa 1970s
By descent to the present owner