Mavis Iona Pusey (September 17, 1928 – April 20, 2019) was a Jamaican-born American
abstract artist.
She was a printmaker and painter who was well known for her hard-edge, nonrepresentational images. Pusey drew inspirations from urban construction. She was a leading
abstractionist
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.
Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th ...
and made works inspired by the constantly changing landscape.
Biography
Pusey was born on September 17, 1928,
in
Retreat, Jamaica, Her parents died when she was born. At the age of 9, Pusey learned how to sew and make dresses from her aunt. Her first job was at a clothing factory in
Kingston
Kingston may refer to:
Places
* List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated:
** Kingston, Jamaica
** Kingston upon Hull, England
** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia
** Kingston, Ontario, Canada
** Kingston upon Thames, ...
.
At age 18, Pusey moved to New York City to pursue a fashion design degree at
Traphagen School of Fashion
Traphagen School of Fashion was an art and design school in operation from 1923 to 1991, and was located at 1680 Broadway in New York City. The school was founded and directed by Ethel Traphagen Leigh (1883–1963) with a focus on the foundational ...
.
After a couple of years of Financial difficulties Pusey left school and worked at a bridal boutique. She then enrolled in fine art courses at the
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists.
Although artists may stud ...
, an institution that worked with her work schedule and allowed her to financially support herself. At this institution Pusey earned a scholarship from the
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the dea ...
and was allowed to take courses and study under artists like artists
Harry Sternberg
Harry Sternberg (1904–2001), was an American painter, printmaker and educator. He taught at the Art Students League of New York, from 1933 to c. 1966.
Biography Childhood, family life, and education
Sternberg's parents had immigrated from Russ ...
and
Will Barnet
Will Barnet (May 25, 1911November 13, 2012) was an American artist known for his paintings, watercolors, drawings, and prints depicting the human figure and animals, both in casual scenes of daily life and in transcendent dreamlike worlds.
Biogr ...
, a 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 techniqu ...
.
She told The New York Amsterdam News in 1978, "Accidentally, I went into Will Barnet’s class of painting. After a month I said, ‘I think I’m in the wrong class.’ But by this time I had become so involved in my painting, I just stayed."
By studying under Barnet, Pusey was introduced to the world of
Modern Art
Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...
and was pushed to continue her work in painting.
After four years of study at the League, when her student visa expired, Pusey moved to England to live with her two brothers in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and continued her education.
In London, she worked as pattern maker for
Singer Corporation
Singer Corporation is an American manufacturer of consumer sewing machines, first established as I. M. Singer & Co. in 1851 by Isaac Singer, Isaac M. Singer with New York lawyer Edward Cabot Clark, Edward C. Clark. Best known for its sewing mac ...
. There she met
Birgit Skiöld
Birgit Skiöld (18 March 1923 – 18 May 1982) was a Swedish master printmaker and modernist artist who ran the highly successful ''Print Workshop'' in the basement of 28 Charlotte Street, London from 1958 to the late 1970s (now the ''Rebecca ...
, a Swedish printmaker and modern artist.
After spending a year in Paris in 1968, Pusey returned to New York City in 1969. She started working with
Robert Blackburn and during this time created –''Broken construction at Noon'' (c. 1970), ''Decaying Construction'' (c. 1970), and ''Impact on Vibration'' (1968).
At age 60, in 1988, a new owner purchased the building she had lived in for 16 years in the Chelsea neighborhood. Whereas many other tenants willingly left, Pusey held out, the landlord tried cutting off the electricity to push her out, and eventually paid her to leave. Pusey relocated to
Orange, Virginia
Orange is a town and the county seat of Orange County, Virginia. The population was 4,721 at the 2010 census, representing a 14.5% increase since the 2000 census. Orange is northeast of Charlottesville, southwest of Washington, D.C., and east ...
, where she taught painting at the
Woodberry Forest School
Woodberry Forest School is a private, all-male boarding school located in Woodberry Forest, Madison County, Virginia
Madison County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,837. It ...
. At the time she was one of four women on faculty and the only Black faculty.
In 2011, Pusey's health had declined and pieces of her art were auctioned off in a bankruptcy proceeding to support her care. She was put under the guardianship of the Orange County Department of Social Services.
She died on April 20, 2019, in
Falmouth, Virginia
Falmouth is a census-designated place (CDP) in Stafford County, Virginia, United States. Situated on the north bank of the Rappahannock River at the falls, the community is north of and opposite the city of Fredericksburg. Recognized by the U ...
, at the age of 90.
Pusey is survived by her daughter Yvonne Palmer. Her works still live on in numerous collections throughout the United States.
Career
In 1968, Pusey moved to Paris and had her first solo exhibition in Galerie Louis Soulanges in Paris, France. While living in Paris, Pusey witnessed the
1968 student riots
Beginning in May 1968, a period of civil unrest occurred throughout France, lasting some seven weeks and punctuated by demonstrations, general strikes, as well as the occupation of universities and factories. At the height of events, which ha ...
that would inspire many of her works and her most noteworthy print,
''Paris Mai Juin'' (1968).
Pusey returned to the U.S. and her work was featured in a 1971 major group exhibition titled ''Contemporary Black Artists in America'' at the
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–194 ...
. One of the works from the 1971 exhibit, a large-scale painting ''Dejygea'' (1970), was among those also included in a 2017 exhibit, ''Magnetic Fields: Expanding American Abstraction, 1960s to Today'', at
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art opened in 1994 in Kansas City, Missouri. With a $5 million annual budget and approximately 75,000 visitors each year, it is Missouri's first and largest contemporary museum.
Founders
The core of the museum's perm ...
.
Pusey also became a teacher and taught at may places, including
The New School
The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
, the
, and
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and wa ...
.
In 1988, Pusey moved to Pusey moved to
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
* Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...
and began teaching at
Woodberry Forest School
Woodberry Forest School is a private, all-male boarding school located in Woodberry Forest, Madison County, Virginia
Madison County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,837. It ...
, an all-boys boarding school.
Pusey's works are held in the permanent collections of the Cochran Collection in
LaGrange
Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi Lagrangia[Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to t ...](_blank)
,
the
Birmingham Museum of Art
The Birmingham Museum of Art is a museum in Birmingham, Alabama. It has one of the most extensive collections of artwork in the Southeastern United States, with more than 24,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and decorative arts repr ...
in
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = " Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...
, the
Studio Museum in Harlem
The Studio Museum in Harlem is an American art museum devoted to the work of artists of African descent. The museum's galleries are currently closed in preparation for a building project that will replace the current building, located at 144 W ...
and the
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, ...
in New York,
and the
National Museum of African American History and Culture
The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in December 2003 and opened its permanent home in ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Pusey received awards and grants from the
Pollock-Krasner Foundation
The Pollock-Krasner Foundation was established in 1985 for the purpose of providing financial assistance to individual working artists of established ability. It was established at the bequest of Lee Krasner, who was an American abstract expression ...
and
The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation
The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation was founded in 1918 by Louis Comfort Tiffany to operate his estate, Laurelton Hall, in Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island. It was designed to be a summer retreat for artists and craftspeople. In 1946 the estate ...
, during her career.
Artistic development and influences
Pusey drew a lot of her inspiration from the constantly changing landscape of urban construction. A lot of her works were inspired by scenes of urban demolition and construction in the city. She gave her works titles like "Broken Construction at Dusk" and "Demolishment".
Pusey had a great interest in design that led to her use of geometric lines and works like, ''Solitude'', a work she created in 1963.
She had her first solo exhibition at Gallarie Louis Soulanges in 1968. In 1971, her work, ''Dejygea'' (1970), was featured in an exhibition titled ''Contemporary Black Artists in America'' at the
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–194 ...
. this same work has been featured in a 2017 exhibit, ''Magnetic Fields: Expanding American Abstraction, the 1960s to today'', at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. It traveled to places like Washington DC's
National Museum of Women in the Arts
The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), located in Washington, D.C., is "the first museum in the world solely dedicated" to championing women through the arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. Since ope ...
to the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Pusey says that color sets the "tempo" of her work, while the design is the "backbone" of her work.
The inaugural art exhibition at the
National Museum of African American History and Culture
The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in December 2003 and opened its permanent home in ...
(NMAAHC) in Washington D.C. featured Pusey.
Collections
Pusey has works in many different collections in museums across the United States, Including:
*
Birmingham Museum of Art
The Birmingham Museum of Art is a museum in Birmingham, Alabama. It has one of the most extensive collections of artwork in the Southeastern United States, with more than 24,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and decorative arts repr ...
, Birmingham, Alabama
*
Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egypt ...
, Cleveland, Ohio
*
Detroit Institute of Arts
The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation and expansion project complet ...
(DIA), Detroit, Michigan
*
Grand Rapids Art Museum
The Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) is an art museum located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, with collections ranging from Renaissance to Modern Art and special collections on 19th and 20th-century European and American art. Its holdings ...
, Grand Rapids, Michigan
*
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, ...
(MoMA), Manhattan, New York
*
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of ch ...
(NGA), Washington D.C.
*
Sheldon Museum of Art
The Sheldon Museum of Art is an art museum in the city of Lincoln, in the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. Its collection focuses on 19th- and 20th-century art.
History
Sheldon Art Association
In 1888, The Sheldon Art Asso ...
in Lincoln, Nebraska
*
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds ...
, Washington D.C.
*
The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
*
Tougaloo College
Tougaloo College is a private historically black college in the Tougaloo area of Jackson, Mississippi. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It was originally established in 1869 by New Y ...
in
Tougaloo,
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...
References
Further reading
National Museum of Women in the Arts: Artist Spotlight: Mavis PuseyStudio Museum of Harlem: Remembering Mavis Pusey
External links
*
Mavis Pusey Lecture (February 1981) at Maryland Institute College of Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pusey, Mavis
1928 births
2019 deaths
20th-century American painters
20th-century American women artists
21st-century American painters
21st-century American women artists
American abstract artists
American women painters
Art Students League of New York alumni
Emigrants from British Jamaica to the United States
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts faculty
Rutgers University faculty
The New School faculty
20th-century African-American painters
21st-century African-American artists
African-American women artists
20th-century Jamaican people
21st-century Jamaican people
Jamaican women artists
Traphagen School of Fashion alumni
American women academics
20th-century African-American women
21st-century African-American women