Kyra Markham (born Elaine Hyman, 1891–1967) was an actress, figurative painter and

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique ...

. Markham was briefly married to the architect

Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Jr. (March 31, 1890 – May 31, 1978), commonly known as Lloyd Wright, was an American architect, active primarily in Los Angeles and Southern California. He was a landscape architect for various Los Angeles projects (19 ...

, and five years later, married the

scenographer A scenographer or scenic designer, also production designer, is a person who develops the appearance of a stage design, a TV or movie set, a gaming environment, a trade fair exhibition design or a museum experience exhibition design. The term ori ...

David Stoner Gaither. She worked for the

Federal Arts Project The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administrati ...

, creating works of

social realism Social realism is work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers, filmmakers and some musicians that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structures ...

that documented American life in the 1930s. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, her art was focused on the propaganda effort against the Nazis.

Biography

Markham was born Elaine Hyman in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. She studied drawing at the

Chicago Art Institute The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park. Its collection, stewarded by 11 curatoria ...

from 1907 to 1909, and subsequently worked as a

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

ist and printmaker. In addition to her work as an artist, Markham was an accomplished actress. She appeared with the Chicago Little Theater from 1912 to the 1913. She lived with the author and playwright

Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalism (literature), naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despi ...

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

from 1914 to 1916, helping him with his writing, editing, and typing, while also acting with various theater companies. Through Dreiser she became acquainted with H.L Mencken,

Edgar Lee Masters Edgar Lee Masters (August 23, 1868 – March 5, 1950) was an American attorney, poet, biographer, and dramatist. He is the author of '' Spoon River Anthology'', ''The New Star Chamber and Other Essays'', ''Songs and Satires'', ''The Great V ...

, and other writers. Due to

Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm moral ...

's womanizing tendencies, Markham left him in 1916 and moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

where she performed with the Los Angeles Little Theatre. During this early stage, Markham also supported herself by making book jackets and illustrations and later working as an art director for film companies like

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

and Metro. In November 1916 she married the architect

and briefly had

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

as a father-in-law. In 1927, she married David Gaither and collaborated with him on the set design for a children's play, ''The Forest Ring,'' staged at the Roerich Museum Theatre in 1930. Gaither encouraged Markham to pursue "her first love, painting." Markham returned to the

Art Students League The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1930, where she studied with Alexander Abels. Before the stock market crash, Markham was a successful bathroom muralist. From the 1920s until the Depression she obtained commercial commissions from clubs and restaurants. During the 1930s, Markham's artistic career began to gain momentum, regularly winning prizes for her lithographic work. In 1934, Markham organized her first solo exhibition in

Ogunquit, Maine Ogunquit ( ) is a resort town in York County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,577. Ogunquit is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. History Ogunquit was first a village within ...

, featuring prints, murals and

lithographs Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

. Markham created works of

depicting street beggars, musicians, actors and scenes from department stores. In recognition of her work, Markham received the prestigious Mary S. Collins Prize at the Philadelphia Print Club's annual exhibition the following year for her lithograph ''Elin and Maria'' (1934). Markham sold work to the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...

, the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

and the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

. From 1935 to 1937, she worked in the Graphic Arts Division for the

, a

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

program designed to provide employment for artists during the Depression. The ''Hall of Inventions'' at the 1939

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

in New York included 40

diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional model either full-sized or miniature. Sometimes dioramas are enclosed in a glass showcase at a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies like mili ...

s by Markham. During

she created propaganda satirizing the Nazis and promoting

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

at home. In 1946 Markham and Gaither moved to an old farmhouse in

Halifax, Vermont Halifax is a town in Windham County, Vermont, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 771. History Halifax was the second town chartered, west of the Connecticut River on May 11, 1750, by New Hampshire Governor Be ...

. Markham stopped making prints after moving to her remote Vermont farm, but continued to work in more accessible mediums such as painting, drawing and ceramics. She was a member of the Southern Vermont Artists Association and participated in their annual exhibitions in Manchester. Over the next twenty years she sold her designs to a postcard company, American Arts, Inc., and had her prints published in prestigious publications. Markham also worked as an illustrator for Children's books during this time. Markham moved to

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

in Haiti as a widow in 1960. She was still enthusiastic for her work, and her later work reflected Markham's new home. While living in Haiti, Markham continued to paint and established a salon for local celebrities, American expatriates, and island visitors. Markham died in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1967.

Work

Context and themes

In the time between the two World Wars, American Scene printmakers, like Markham, opposed the

Etching Revival The etching revival was the re-emergence and invigoration of etching as an original form of printmaking during the period approximately from 1850 to 1930. The main centres were France, Britain and the United States, but other countries, such as t ...

style and instead embraced

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, lithography exploded – the WPA/ FAP alone published roughly 240,000 prints from 11,285 original images. Like Markham, many other artists working in this style, such as Mabel Dwight, Reginald Marsh,

Elizabeth Olds Elizabeth Olds (December 10, 1896 – March 4, 1991) was an American artist known for her work in developing silkscreen as a fine arts medium. She was a painter and illustrator, but is primarily known as a printmaker, using silkscreen, woodcut, l ...

, Caroline Durieux, and Russell Limbach, used lithography as a vehicle to employ humor and satire of daily life. Often categorized as

, Markham's work presents extracted scenes from everyday life in a dramatic manner, turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. Markham's work explored the incredible and grim aspects of modern society with a strong interest in labor themes, like much of the socially concerned art of the 1930s. This examination of labor roles was especially vital during Depression-era politics, and Markham often expressed this theme through the environment she knew best: theater. A repeated theme in Markham's work, theater is presented in several prints through the unique perspective of the backstage. Although similar in subject matter to Mabel Dwight's ''Houston Street Burlesque'' (1928) and Elizabeth Olds' ''Burlesque'' (1939), Markham's ''Burlycue'' (1938) differs by focusing on the dancers identities as workers, rather than as objectified figures. Markham emphasizes the dancers confidence, workplace solidarity, and relaxed interactions – allowing viewers to see the Burlesque in a new light and shifting the mood from tantalizing to lighthearted amusement. Although many of her prints depict scenes of entertainment, whether backstage in the dressing room or performing under the spotlight, Markham is also interested in other leisure activities such as attending lively night clubs and social gatherings. A mural she painted for the Community Hall in West Halifax, Vermont depicts a barn-raising. Often evoking a dream-like state, Markham's use of light, combined with detailed realism, results in fantastical compositions of daily life (9). Similarly to

Paul Cadmus Paul Cadmus (December 17, 1904 – December 12, 1999) was an American artist widely known for his tempera, egg tempera paintings of gritty social interactions in urban settings. He also produced many highly finished drawings of single nude male ...

and

George Tooker George Clair Tooker, Jr. (August 5, 1920 – March 27, 2011) was an American figurative painter. His works are associated with Magic realism, Social realism, Photorealism, and Surrealism. His subjects are depicted naturally as in a photograph, ...

, Markham injected fantasy into the social realist genre.

List of works

*
Nightclub
', 1935, lithograph. *
Fisherman's Luck
1938,'' lithograph. *
Hotcha
'' 1938, aquatint. *
Ohmpeer
'' 1944, lithograph. *
Bleecker Street Fire Hydrant
', 1942, lithograph. *
July 4th, 1936
', 1936, lithograph. *
Cherry Blossom in Brooklyn
', 1937, lithograph. *
The Silver Trumpets of the Rain
', 1936, lithograph. *
New Year's Eve in Greenwich Village
', 1938, oil on canvas laid on masonite. *
Flag Raising in Leroy Street
', 1942, lithograph. *
Mature Vision
', 1935, lithograph. *
Stage Door Johnnie
', 1937, lithograph. *
Sailors at Penn Station
', 1944, lithograph. *
The Fit Yourself Shop
', 1935, lithograph. *
The Show is Over
'' 1936, lithograph. *
At Her Dressing Table
', 1939, oil on canvas board. *
Laughing Gas (Theodore Dreiser's Operation)
', 1943, lithograph. *
Summer Idyll
', 1941, aquatint. *
Burlycue
', 1936, lithograph. *
Haitian Village Women
', 1961, oil on masonite. *

', 1934, lithograph.

References

External links

''Bleeker Street fire hydrant''
by Kyra Markham

lithograph at the

''July 4th, 1936''
lithograph by Kyra Markham
''Ohmpeer''
lithograph of laundry hanging behind

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, E ...

''Sleep''
lithograph in the

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Located in the Wade Park District of University Circle, the museum is internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian art, Asian and Art of anc ...

''Well Met in the Subway''
lithograph in the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...