Blossom Adler (nee Abhrahamson)
b. 12 July 1919 Chicago, of Lithuanian family - d. 7 Feb 2112 Quillan, France.
b. 12 July 1919 Chicago, of Lithuanian family - d. 7 Feb 2112 Quillan, France.
Blossom was born into a Jewish family where the expectation was , as the youngest, she would be the one to care for the parents. She was allowed to go to art school however - no harm in a girl having a hobby.
At the Chicago Arts Institute she was taught by Boris Anasfelt (1878 -1973) and by Lazlo Moholy-Nagy (1895 - 1946) though she argued almost immediately with the latter. He was a forceful character with a circle of acolytes and Blossom challenged him on an issue now forgotten. He told her that if she didn't agree with everything he said, she could not be his pupil. So she left.
Later he told her that that had been just an expression of speech -
When the City of Chicago arranged to 'welcome home' servicemen who had been fighting in Europe, Blossom painted the murals in the reception building and worked on many portraits of the young survivors. After the war she became a medical illustrator. In 1947 she met and married her husband who had been fighting in Japan; eloping in order to escape her parents she nonetheless had to stop work and devote herself to home and family as the prevailing culture of the middle classes dictated.
Her adopted son Stan Adler arrived in 1954. Blossom did her bit to encourage his innate musicality, against her husbands wishes, playing musical games and recording his early band in the days when this was very novel. Later it was she who bought his (now famous) electric cello.
In the 1960's she was allowed to teach the French language in Chicago. She was extremely successful - some of her students went on to have careers in the French-speaking world - and after retiring she opted to teach art to other seniors. She held workshops in Mesa, Arizona and was a volunteer in the local high school.
She moved here in 2006 to be with Stan and his family, bringing with her some excellent examples of her artwork and her notebooks. Its a curious thing that when artists can't paint they will still draw.... it is hoped that a selection of her work will be exhibited soon and that the images will be available on line. It is a glorious mix of the epoch, a young womans' exploration of styles and the confident work of the mature artist.
I'm sure that Tillings denizens join with me in sending condolences to Stan, Debs and Miriam -
At the Chicago Arts Institute she was taught by Boris Anasfelt (1878 -1973) and by Lazlo Moholy-Nagy (1895 - 1946) though she argued almost immediately with the latter. He was a forceful character with a circle of acolytes and Blossom challenged him on an issue now forgotten. He told her that if she didn't agree with everything he said, she could not be his pupil. So she left.
Later he told her that that had been just an expression of speech -
When the City of Chicago arranged to 'welcome home' servicemen who had been fighting in Europe, Blossom painted the murals in the reception building and worked on many portraits of the young survivors. After the war she became a medical illustrator. In 1947 she met and married her husband who had been fighting in Japan; eloping in order to escape her parents she nonetheless had to stop work and devote herself to home and family as the prevailing culture of the middle classes dictated.
Her adopted son Stan Adler arrived in 1954. Blossom did her bit to encourage his innate musicality, against her husbands wishes, playing musical games and recording his early band in the days when this was very novel. Later it was she who bought his (now famous) electric cello.
In the 1960's she was allowed to teach the French language in Chicago. She was extremely successful - some of her students went on to have careers in the French-speaking world - and after retiring she opted to teach art to other seniors. She held workshops in Mesa, Arizona and was a volunteer in the local high school.
She moved here in 2006 to be with Stan and his family, bringing with her some excellent examples of her artwork and her notebooks. Its a curious thing that when artists can't paint they will still draw.... it is hoped that a selection of her work will be exhibited soon and that the images will be available on line. It is a glorious mix of the epoch, a young womans' exploration of styles and the confident work of the mature artist.
I'm sure that Tillings denizens join with me in sending condolences to Stan, Debs and Miriam -
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