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Anne Steele Marsh
Born
Anne Gould Steele

(1901-09-07)September 7, 1901
Nutley, New Jersey, US
DiedDecember 5, 1995(1995-12-05) (aged 94)
Hunterdon County, New Jersey, US
Alma materCooper Union Art School
SpouseJames Randall Marsh

Anne Steele Marsh (1901–1995) was an American painter and printmaker whose watercolors, oil paintings, and wood engravings were widely exhibited and drew critical praise. She was also a noted educator and arts administrator.

Early life and training

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In the rear gallery [at Contemporary Arts] some watercolors by Anne Steele Marsh show appreciation of the character of the medium, not only in their easy fluency of gay color but in their unpretentious simplicity and freedom.[1]

Margaret Breuning, critic for the New York Post, in a review published April 6, 1935.

Marsh attended private schools as a child.[2] In the years following the end of World War I she studied as a design major in the School of Art at Cooper Union[3] and later studied tapestry, weaving, and occupational therapy at one of the schools run by the YWCA of New York.[4][note 1] Having completed those studies she worked for the next four years, until 1925, as an instructor of occupational therapy.[4]

Career in art

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From 1935 to 1940 Marsh showed watercolors, oil paintings, and wood engravings in group exhibitions held at commercial galleries,[4] including the Morton[7] Montrose,[8] and Contemporary Arts[9] Galleries; and the Art Mart;[10][note 2] as well as in shows staged by the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors in its Argent Galleries.[13][note 3] In April 1935 she had a solo exhibition at Contemporary Arts Galleries in Manhattan.[1][14][note 4] She showed at the World's Fair held in New York in 1939[4] and, during the 1940s, showed watercolors, paintings, and prints in group exhibitions in diverse settings, including the 1940 Venice Biennale,[17] Associated Artists of New Jersey,[18] New York Society of Women Artists,[19][note 5] Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts,[24] and National Academy of Design.[20]

Beginning in the mid-1950s Marsh devoted more time to work as an arts administrator, helping to transform an old grist mill near her home into an arts center and managing its exhibitions.[4] In 1956 she chaired the first of an annual series of print exhibitions at the center, a tradition that would continue for the next 35 years.[4]

Over the course of her thirty-year career Marsh received awards from many art organizations including the New Jersey State Museum,[25] Pen & Brush Club of New York, Philadelphia Print Club, Montclair Art Museum, and the National Association of Women Artists.[3][26] Her work can be found in the permanent collections of Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philadelphia Art Museum, Brooklyn Museum, New Jersey State Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, Library of Congress, and New York Public Library.[3]

Artistic style and critical reception

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Anne Steele Marsh, Morning at the Circus, watercolor on paper, about 1936, 21 1/2 x 29 1/2 inches
Anne Steele Marsh, Holland Tunnel, wood engraving, 1930, 9 x 12 inches
Anne Steele Marsh, Intermission, wood engraving, 1951, 6 x 9 inches
Anne Steele Marsh, In the Corner, oil on masonite, about 1962, 9 1/2 x 24 inches

Marsh's style was realist. Her Watercolors, oil paintings, and wood engravings all drew critical notice. In 1935, Margaret Breuning, critic for the New York Post said her watercolors showed an "appreciation of the character of the medium, not only in their easy fluency of gay color but in their unpretentious simplicity and freedom."[1] At the same time Howard Devree of The New York Times wrote that her paintings resembled those of Hopper, Burchfield and Sanford Ross, but added that she was "preoccupied with the romantic, exciting, poetic and beautiful values in the commonplace" and said she captured them "sometimes rather dazzlingly—with a joyous brush."[14] Reviewing a group show held in 1936 at the Art Mart, Howard Devree wrote that Marsh's "large and pleasing "Morning at the Circus" (shown at right) in particular deserves to be noticed by the visitor."[10] A Times review published in 1937 noted that she applied "wash smoothly and with clear definition." The author said, "her color is pleasing and her work continues to gain facility."[7] That critic also called attention to a wood engraving called "Holland Tunnel" that Marsh had made in 1930, saying it was one of her more interesting works on paper.[7] This print, shown at left, illustrates her early style. In 1943, reporting on a group show at the Studio Gallery,[note 6] the critic for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, A. Z. Kreuze, said Marsh had a "sound facility" in wood engraving and praised one of her prints for its well managed distribution of light.[28] In reviewing a group show held by the New York Society of Women Artists ten years later, Devree called attention to a wood engraving called "Intermission" (shown at right).[29] In 1966 the New Jersey State Museum gave Marsh a purchase award for "In the Corner," an oil painting of about 1962 (shown at left). A critic noted at the time that she competed against "far more celebrated names" in winning the award.[25] In 1995, looking back on her artistic career, a critic said "her wood engravings combine powerful design with painstakingly refined execution."[30]

Career as educator

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After completing study at the YMCA, Marsh taught occupational therapy four years during the early 1920s.[4] From 1938 to 1945 she was an art instructor at Buxton Country Day School in Short Hills, New Jersey, and at Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts.[4]

Career as administrator

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In 1941 Marsh founded and became first president of Associated Artists of New Jersey [3] Limited to a membership of fifty, the group staged exhibitions in galleries and museums and sponsored public forums.[31][32][33]

In 1952 Marsh and her husband helped to create a center for arts and crafts in Clinton, New Jersey.[3] They bought and converted a former a grist mill into exhibition space, studios, and a shop. Marsh organized exhibitions and managed the gallery at the center. In 1956 she began a series of annual print exhibitions and started a program to purchase prints for what would later become known as the Anne Steele Marsh Collection.[4][30] She also set up and ran a commercial gallery, called the Graphics Room, in the center.[34]

During her career she served as trustee of American Association of Museums and the New Jersey State Museum[30] and was a board member of New York Society of Women Artists, Society of American Graphic Artists, and other arts organizations.[3] For her work she received a commendation from the New Jersey legislature.[30]

Personal life and family

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Born on September 7, 1901, Marsh was the daughter of the well-known illustrator Frederic Dorr Steele and his wife Mary Thyng Steele (known as Polly).[3] She had two siblings, Robert G. Steele and Zulma R. Steel.[30] In 1925 she married James Randall Marsh.[30][35] After the wedding the couple moved to Essex Fells, New Jersey.[30] In 1948 they bought a farm in Pittstown, New Jersey. They converted its barn to a studio, where Anne Steele Marsh would work, and music room, where the family would host Sunday afternoon chamber music concerts.[30]

James R. Marsh was the son of the illustrator and muralist Frederick Dana Marsh and his wife, the miniaturist, Alice Randall Marsh. The artist Reginald Marsh was his brother.[4] He was an artist in his own right but is better known as a designer and manufacturer of decorative wrought iron. Established in 1926, his firm, the James R. Marsh Company, made small products like sconces and table lamps, as well as large ones like the entrance gate at Sarah Lawrence College.[36] He also was Anne Steele Marsh's partner in transforming the Clinton gristmill into the Hunterdon Art Center, now called the Hunterdon Art Museum.[37] Starting in 1960, he helped to establish the Clinton Historical Museum, now known as the Red Mill Museum Village.[38]

Anne Steele Marsh and James R. Marsh had two sons, Reginald Steele Marsh (born 1926)[39] and Peter Marsh (born 1932). They had one daughter Janet B. Marsh (born 1930).[26] Peter Marsh was a professional violinist.[3] Janet Marsh (Janet Marsh Hunt after her marriage) directed the Coryell Art Gallery in Lambertville, New Jersey.[40]

Anne Steele Marsh died on December 5, 1995, at the Hunterdon Care Center in Flemington.[30]

Notes

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  1. ^ Marsh's daughter said she studied at the "YMCA Art School,"[4] but there is no record of such a school in the New York metropolitan region. It is more likely that Marsh studied at the Ballard School run by the YWCA of New York. That school was founded by Georgianna Ballard in 1870 to provide vocational training for women. If offered many classes to help prepare its students for occupations in the city.[5][6]
  2. ^ Begun in October 1935[11] the Art Mart was a Manhattan commercial gallery offering works by contemporary American artists at "budget prices."[12]
  3. ^ There are news accounts of watercolors by Marsh in seven group exhibitions held at the Morton Gallery (1936, 1937, 1938, 1939), two at the Montrose Gallery (1937), four at Contemporary Arts (1935, 1936), one at the Art Mart (1936), and two at Argent Galleries (1935, 1936).
  4. ^ New York's Contemporary Arts Gallery opened in 1929 to provide exhibitions for little-known contemporary artists. It was the first gallery to show work by Mark Tobey, Mark Rothko, Louis Schanker, Stanley Twardowicz, and other notable artists. The gallery was founded and directed by Emily Francis.[15][16]
  5. ^ The New York Society of Women Artists was founded in 1925 as an alternative to the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors (which was believed to be too traditional and academic). It aimed to show art that was innovative and not overly feminine. Membership was originally limited to thirty but later raised to fifty.[20] Each member was allotted the same amount of space in its exhibitions. Its first president was Marguerite Zorach.[21] The founding members included Adelaide Lawson, Agnes Weinrich, Anne Goldthwaite, Blanche Lazzell, Henrietta Shore, Louise Upton Brumback, Margaret Wendell Huntington, Marjorie Organ, and Sonia Gordon Brown.[22][23]
  6. ^ The Studio Gallery at Fifth Avenue and Fifteenth Street was opened at the end of 1943. It specialized shows of paintings, watercolors, and monotypes by women artists.[27]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Margaret Breuning (1935-04-06). "Exhibits Large and Small Crowd Week's Calendar". New York Post. In the rear gallery some watercolors by Anne Steele Marsh show appreciation of the character of the medium, not only in their easy fluency of gay color but in their unpretentious simplicity and freedom. It is a delightful showing.
  2. ^ Andrew Malec. "The Other Master: Frederic Dorr Steele; A Commemorative Essay" (PDF). Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in Minnesota; a Conference, September 28–29, 1984, Minneapolis. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Notable Women Throughout the History of Hunterdon County" (PDF). Hunterdon County Cultural & Heritage Commission and Hunterdon County Board Of Chosen Freeholders. 2000. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Anne Marsh - Artist, Biography from Hunterdon Art Museum". AskArt. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  5. ^ Daphne Spain (2001). How Women Saved the City. University of Minnesota Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-4529-0541-9.
  6. ^ "Georgianna Ballard, Y.W.C.A. Leader, Dies: She Was Charter Member of Organization and Creator of Its Educational Work". The New York Times. 1929-04-27. p. 11.
  7. ^ a b c "Seven Solo Exhibitors: Reproductions Rhode Island". The New York Times. 1937-03-07. p. 172. Anne Steele Marsh, currently exhibiting at the Morton Gallery.. continues in her water-colors to make use of airports, circuses, drydocks and a variety of other material in a colorful manner. She applies wash smoothly and with clear definition. Her color is pleasing and her work continues to gain facility. "Holland Tunnel" with planes of walls receding into the background is one of her most interesting papers.
  8. ^ Edward Alden Jewel (1937-01-31). "Greek Echo: Museum Treasures Revitalized; Other Shows". The New York Times. p. 164.
  9. ^ Howard Devree (1935-12-15). "All Media: More Than a Score of Local Shows". The New York Times. p. X15.
  10. ^ a b Howard Devree (1936-05-24). "In the Art Galleries: Comment on a Score of Recently Opened Exhibitions". The New York Times. p. X8. Anne Steele Marsh's large and pleasing "Morning at the Circus" in particular deserves to be noticed by the visitor.
  11. ^ "Many Art Shows to Open This Week: Carnegie International Exhibit at Pittsburgh Thursday to Be Outstanding Event". The New York Times. 1935-10-14. p. 15.
  12. ^ Howard Devree (1935-10-20). "Display Ad 124; The Art Mart". The New York Times. p. X8. A gallery with budget prices from one to a hundred dollars; Contemporary American Painters; Open daily until 9 P.M.; 505 Eighth Avenue at 35th Street.
  13. ^ Howard Devree (1935-12-08). "Briefs From A Reviewer's Notebook". The New York Times. p. X15.
  14. ^ a b Howard Devree (1935-04-07). "The American Scene by George Picken -- Impressions of Racing By Lee Townsend -- A Group of Women and Other Exhibitors". The New York Times. p. X8. Anne Steele Marsh at Contemporary Arts is exploring fields analogous to those of Hopper, Burchfield and Stanford Ross. But she is preoccupied with the romantic, exciting, poetic and beautiful values in the commonplace and captures them—sometimes rather dazzlingly—with a joyous brush.
  15. ^ Howard Devree (1943-09-12). "On View: Current and Coming Local Shows". The New York Times. p. X5.
  16. ^ "About Art and Artists: Contemporary Gallery Opens at New Site With Abstractions by Twardowicz". The New York Times. 1956-01-10. p. 63.
  17. ^ "ASAC Dati: Artisti". la Biennale di Venezia. 2006. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  18. ^ Howard Devree (1943-05-19). "Display of Work By Jersey Artists: Exhibition Opening Today at the Riverside Museum". The New York Times. p. 19.
  19. ^ Edward Alden Jewel (1943-11-23). "Whitney Museum Opens Exhibition". The New York Times. p. 28.
  20. ^ a b Edward Alden Jewel (1946-05-14). "142 Entries Seen in New Art Show". The New York Times. p. 31.
  21. ^ Helen Appleton Read (1926-04-25). "Women's Art Not Necessarily Feminine, New Group Demonstrates". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. E5.
  22. ^ "New York Society of Women Artists Soon to Hold Exhibition". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1926-02-28. p. E7.
  23. ^ "Society of Women Artists". New York Evening Post. 1926-03-13. p. 9.
  24. ^ Howard Devree (1940-11-03). "Art Show Opens In Philadelphia: 38th Annual Water-Color and Print Exhibition". The New York Times. p. 56.
  25. ^ a b Sanka Knox (1966-04-08). "New Home Helps Jersey Museum: Throngs Expected to View State-Contest Winners". The New York Times. p. 28. [Competing against entries from better-dnown artists,] the entry of Anne Steele Marsh, competing against far more celebrated names, is now in the museum collection.
  26. ^ a b "Retrospective Exhibit at County Art Center". Forum. Hackettstown, New Jersey. 1975-01-15. p. 11. Anne Steele Marsh has played a major role in the history of the Hunterdon Art Center as a founding Charter Member in 1963 when she and her husband participated in saving the Old Stone Mill and were responsible for the establishment of the organization... A resident of Pittstown, Mrs. Marsh has been prominent in the art world as artist, teacher and functionary of many art organizations.
  27. ^ Howard Devree (1943-12-19). "Brief Comment on Some Recently Opened Group and One-Man Exhibitions". The New York Times. p. X8.
  28. ^ A. Z. Kreuze (1944-04-09). "At the Art Galleries". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 22. Anne Steele Marsh displays sound facility in the attractive medium of wood engraving. Her moonlit "Street Scene" is well managed in its distribution of light.
  29. ^ Howard Devree (1953-10-18). "Round-Up and Solo: The Whitney Opens Its Painting Annual — One-Man Shows and a Group". The New York Times. p. X9. Anne Steele Marsh's "Intermission" with its temporarily waiting musical instruments.
  30. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Anne Steele Marsh, 94, Known Printmaker, Painter". Courier-News. Bridgewater, New Jersey. 1995-12-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ "Essex Fells, N.J.". The New York Times. 1941-07-20. p. X7.
  32. ^ "N. J. Artists to Exhibit in Chatham". The Forum. Hackettstown, N.J. 1977-02-23. p. 25.
  33. ^ Vivien Raynor (1990-05-27). "Art; Eclectic Works at an Old Mill". The New York Times. p. 20.
  34. ^ Piri Halasz (1975-06-08). "Hunterdon Art Center, in 1825 Gristmill, Holds 22d Show". The New York Times. p. 87.
  35. ^ "James R Marsh and Anne G Steele, 17 Jan 1925". "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940," database; citing Marriage, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, New York City Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,643,302. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  36. ^ Charles A. Poekel (1999). West Essex: Essex Fells, Fairfield, North Caldwell, and Roseland. Arcadia Publishing. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-7385-0141-3. This picture shows Ye Olde Forge, which in 1926 became James R. Marsh & Company, makers of elaborate pieces of wrought iron. Besides making ornamental ironworks, such as chandeliers and wall plates, the Marsh forge manufactured gates to Sarah Lawrence College. One of Marsh's famous relatives was Reginald Marsh, the world-renowned artist. In the forge, Ann Steele Marsh had an artist's studio and the family held art exhibits and concerts, bringing in local artists on a periodic basis.
  37. ^ William Zimmer (2002-10-20). "How Clinton's Gristmill Grew Into a Museum". The New York Times. p. NJ10.
  38. ^ "History of the Red Mill". Red Mill Museum Village.
  39. ^ "Reginald Marsh Obituary". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
  40. ^ "Off the Beaten Path". Courier-News. Bridgewater, New Jersey. 2003-08-20. p. S5.
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