Kathleen Gemberling Adkison ( Parks; July 5, 1917 – August 3, 2010) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

abstract painter Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non-objective art'', and ''non ...

Early life

Kathleen Gemberling Adkison was born in

Beatrice, Nebraska Beatrice () is a city in and the county seat of Gage County, Nebraska, Gage County, Nebraska, United States. Its population was 12,261 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Nebraska, 15th most populous cit ...

, to parents Rupert Parks and Henrietta Williamson. She attended Hawthorn High School in

Kearney, Nebraska Kearney ( ) is the county seat of Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 33,790 in the 2020 census, making it the 5th most populous city in Nebraska. It is home to the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The westward pus ...

for three years, and graduated from Garfield High School in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. She studied art and painting under Leon Derbyshire at the Cornish Institute between 1938 and 1942.

Career

Adkison was the last surviving artist trained under

Mark Tobey Mark George Tobey (December 11, 1890 – April 24, 1976) was an American painter. His densely structured compositions, inspired by Asian calligraphy, resemble Abstract expressionism, although the motives for his compositions differ philosop ...

, who was

Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, Pollock was widely noticed for his "Drip painting, drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household ...

's inspiration. Her work has been shown in museums as early as 1960 when the

Frye Art Museum The Frye Art Museum is a modern and contemporary art museum in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1952 to house the collection of Charles and Emma Frye and has since grown to include rotating temporary exhibi ...

staged a solo show of her work. She also had a show at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, formerly the Cheney Cowles Memorial Museum, in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, from December 13, 1973 to January 13, 1974. Adkison was a critically acclaimed artist and highly recognized for her work. She was among only eight women included in ''Northwest Art Today'' at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. Adkison was the feature of a solo retrospective at the Cheney Cowles Museum in

, from March 27, 1999, to June 27, 1999. It was the first retrospective of her work, at that museum, since 1974.

Personal life

Adkison married Thomas Adkison, an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, in 1968. They had two children. Adkison enjoyed hiking, and she climbed to the base camp at Mt. Everest twice. Thomas Adkison died in 1986. She died on August 3, 2010, in Spokane, Washington, aged 93.Profile
mona.unk.edu. Accessed February 15, 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adkison, Kathleen Gemberling 1917 births 2010 deaths 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women painters Abstract expressionist artists People from Beatrice, Nebraska