Perna Krick (1909, Greenville, Ohio – 9 March 1991, Baltimore, Maryland) was an American sculptor, painter and teacher. The daughter of Harry E. and Perna Krick, she was born and raised in

Greenville, Ohio Greenville is a city in Darke County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is near Ohio's western edge, about northwest of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton. The population was 12,786 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Indigenous ...

, and attended the school of the

Dayton Art Institute The Dayton Art Institute (DAI) is a museum of fine arts in Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, Ohio, United States. The Dayton Art Institute has been rated one of the top 10 best art museums in the United States for children. The museum also ranks in the top 3% ...

. She came to Baltimore in 1927 to attend the Rinehart School of Sculpture at the

Maryland Institute College of Art The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a Private university, private art school, art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, it is regarded as one of ...

(MICA),"Perna Kramer, artist, dies at 67,"
''The Baltimore Sun'', March 12, 1991. where she studied under J. Maxwell Miller and won two traveling scholarships to Europe. She later taught children's art classes at MICA, where

Joan Erbe Joan Erbe Udel (1926 – August 21, 2014) was a Baltimore painter and sculptor. She was best known for using bright colors and was called "The Grand Duchess of Baltimore Painters" by Ned Oldham as quoted by Rebecca Hoffberger in ''Baltimore Maga ...

was one of her students. Her best known work may be ''Young Siren'' (1937), a fountain figure of a young girl riding a fish. It was exhibited at the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1805, it is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum ...

's 1938 annual exhibition,Peter Hastings Falk, ed., ''The Annual Exhibition Record of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1914–1968, Volume 3'' (Sound View Press, 1989), p. 277. and at the

National Sculpture Society Founded in 1893, the National Sculpture Society (NSS) was the first organization of professional sculptors formed in the United States. The purpose of the organization was to promote the welfare of American sculptors, although its founding member ...

's 1940 exhibition at 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 ...

. It is now installed in the children's room at the main branch of Baltimore's

Enoch Pratt Free Library The Enoch Pratt Free Library is the free public library system of Baltimore, Maryland. Its Central Library is located on 400 Cathedral Street (southbound) and occupies the northeastern three quarters of a city block bounded by West Franklin S ...

. Her sculpture group, ''Serenity'' (1939), earned an honorable mention at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...

. Under the

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 ...

Section of Painting and Sculpture Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section s ...

, she carved ''The Power of Communication'' (1939–40), a wood relief mural for the U.S. post office in

Pocomoke, Maryland Pocomoke City, dubbed "the friendliest town on the Eastern Shore", is a city in Worcester County, Maryland, United States. Although renamed in a burst of civic enthusiasm in 1878, the city is regularly referred to by its inhabitants simply as Po ...

. It depicts a Native American spirit reclining on a cloud and observing a passing

Air Mail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be the ...

plane. Sculptor Reuben Kramer (1909–1999) had been a classmate at the Rinehart School. In 1944 they married, and together founded Pioneer House, "the first licensed, desegregated art school in Maryland." It is now known as the Baltimore Art Center for Children. In the 1940s she switched her artistic focus to painting, and became known for her depictions of animals, birds and flowers. She exhibited at the

Baltimore Museum of Art The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in Baltimore, Maryland, is an art museum that was founded in 1914. The BMA's collection of 95,000 objects encompasses more than 1,000 works by Henri Matisse anchored by the Cone Collection of modern art, ...

, the

(1930, 1933–34, 1937–38), the

Architectural League of New York The Architectural League of New York is a non-profit organization "for creative and intellectual work in architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construct ...

, and elsewhere.Judy Colbert, ''Maryland and Delaware off the Beaten Path: A Guide to Unique Places'' (Rowman & Littlefield, 2010), p. 174. Her husband established the Perna Krick & Reuben Kramer Fellowship in her memory, an annual scholarship awarded to a student at the Rinehart School of Sculpture. He also donated their house/studio to MICA, which is used to house visiting artists.

Selected works

* ''Baby Faun'' (1929, bronze),

Art Institute of Chicago 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 (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

. * ''Young Siren'' (1937, bronze), Children's Room,

, Baltimore, Maryland. * ''Serenity'' (1939). Exhibited at the

. * ''The Power of Communication'' (1939, wood bas relief), U.S. post office,

. * ''Bust of

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United S ...

'' ( 1954, terra cotta),

Jewish Museum of Maryland The Jewish Museum of Maryland is located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The museum tells the story of the American Jews, American Jewish experience in the city of Baltimore and throughout the US state of Maryland. Description The museu ...

, Baltimore. * ''Survivor of the Orkney Queen'' (1956, painting),

. * ''Lowenstein Memorial Sundial'' (1974, bronze),

Cylburn Arboretum Cylburn Arboretum ronounced Sill·burn arr·burr·EE·tum is a city park with arboretum and gardens, located at 4915 Greenspring Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland. It is open daily excluding Mondays without charge. The arboretum began as the priv ...

, Baltimore, Maryland. A collaboration with her husband, Reuben Kramer. * ''Reuben and Perna Kramer'' (no date, painting), Jewish Museum of Maryland, Baltimore.Reuben and Perna Kramer
from SIRIS. Self-portrait with her husband and cat.

Selected works

References

Further reading