Pauline Gibling Schindler (March 19, 1893 – May 4, 1977) was an American composer, educator, editor, and arts promoter, especially influential in supporting

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 tradit ...

in Southern California. Her husband was architect Rudolph Schindler.

Early life and education

Her father was English-born. Pauline Gibling was raised in the

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 ...

area, and attended

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

Maplewood, New Jersey Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's popula ...

, where she was classmates with

Alfred Kinsey Alfred Charles Kinsey (; June 23, 1894 – August 25, 1956) was an American sexologist, biologist, and professor of entomology and zoology who, in 1947, founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Insti ...

. She studied music at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

, in the class of 1915. After graduation she spent two years teaching piano at

Hull House Hull House was a settlement house in Chicago, Illinois, that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located on the Near West Side of Chicago, Hull House, named after the original house's first owner Charles Jerald Hul ...

Chicago 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 ...

, Illinois. She married architect Rudolph Schindler in August 1919 in Chicago. They lived briefly at

Taliesin Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Britons (Celtic people), Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the ''Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to ...

the next year before moving 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 Schindler worked for

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 ...

. Their home, the Schindler House in

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writings about West Hollywood be ...

, was completed in 1922, an experiment in shared living, called "the built evocation of Schindler's collaboration with his wife."

Career

While still in Los Angeles, she taught at the Walt Whitman School in

Boyle Heights Boyle may refer to: Places United States * Boyle, Kansas, an unincorporated community * Boyle, Mississippi, a town *Boyle County, Kentucky *Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, a neighborhood Elsewhere * Boyle (crater), a lunar crater * 11967 Boyle, ...

, and served with Rudolph on the school's board. Through the school, they met photographer

Edward Weston Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886 – January 1, 1958) was an American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers" and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." Over the course ...

, whose sons were students there. The couple hosted social gatherings at Schindler House, with Pauline mainly inviting artists and political thinkers. Pauline wrote an affidavit of support for architect

Richard Neutra Richard Joseph Neutra ( ; 8 April 1892 – 16 April 1970) was an Austrian-American architect. Living and building for most of his career in Southern California, he came to be considered a prominent and important modernist architect. His most ...

's visa into the United States in 1923, and the Neutras later lived at Schindler House for a few years. After separating from Schindler in 1927, Pauline moved to the artists' colonies at

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), commonly known simply as Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, located on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,220, down from 3,722 a ...

. She edited the weekly '' Carmel Pine Cone'' newspaper and later '' The Carmelite'' publication, where she clashed with fellow editor

Lincoln Steffens Joseph Lincoln Steffens (April 6, 1866 – August 9, 1936) was an American investigative journalist and one of the leading muckrakers of the Progressive Era in the early 20th century. He launched a series of articles in '' McClure's'', called " ...

. Schindler moved to Oceano, California, where she helped to edit a monthly arts journal, ''Dune Forum''. She also lived at Halcyon, Santa Fe, and Ojai during these years. She returned to the Schindler House in the late 1930s, and lived there with her ex-husband until he died in 1953, and with others until her death in 1977. She painted her side of the house pink, added carpeting and updated the plumbing in her later years. As a

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

she published as "Sophie P. Gibling," the titles ''Types of Musical Listening'' and ''Problems of Musical Criticism.''

Personal life

Gibling and Schindler had one son, Mark. They divorced in 1940. She had a brief relationship with composer

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...

, who was almost twenty years her junior, in the 1930s.

Death

Pauline died on May 4, 1977 in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 84.

Legacy

The non-profit Friends of Schindler House was formed by Pauline in 1976, shortly before her death, to maintain the house. It has since become an arts center, and is open for architectural tours. A musical performance based on Schindler's life, ''Pauline: An Opera'', was presented by architects Frank Escher and Ravi GuneWardena at Schindler House, in October 2013."The Perils of Pauline Schindler," ''Arts Meme'' (October 15, 2013).
/ref>

Other sources

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibling Schindler, Pauline 1893 births 1977 deaths Columbia High School (New Jersey) alumni Dunites People from Maplewood, New Jersey Smith College alumni People from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California