The Washington Color School has long been associated with the same roster of male artists: Howard Mehring, Thomas Downing, Gene Davis, Paul Reed, Morris Louis, and Kenneth Noland. While all are deserving of their prominence, the lack of female representation is striking, especially given the integral role women played in the Washington, D.C. color field movement during the 50s and 60s.
In 1957, Gallery director Alice Denney and artist Mary Orwen signed a lease for a building on Connecticut Avenue that operated as the Jefferson Place Gallery for the next seventeen years. Known as the city’s first modern art gallery, its mission was to support the local avant-garde community, showcasing both men and women from the Washington Color School. At its inaugural opening, three of the eleven featured artists were women: Mary Orwen, Shelby Shackleford, and Helene McKinsey Herzbrun. Whether they exhibited at the gallery or not, many women played seminal roles in the D.C. art movement, including Alice Mavrogordato, Hilda Shapiro Thorpe, Alma Thomas, Mary Pinchot Meyer, Valerie Hollister, and Anne Truitt.
Anne Truitt (1921-2004), a steadfast Washingtonian artist, began writing journals in 1974, which were later published as “Daybook” (1982), “Turn” (1986), “Prospect” (1996), and “Yield” (2022). In these books, Truitt recounts her experiences as an artist, mother, and breadwinner. Despite moving in the same social circles as well-known journalists and government officials, Truitt never sought an extravagant lifestyle and opted for solitude and privacy. While not everyone may immediately connect with Truitt’s futuristic sculptures, there is still something to be learned from her life philosophy and the thoughtful exploration of creativity, discipline, and self-reflection that shaped her artistic career.
Considering the skyrocketing real estate prices in northwest Washington, D.C., it’s remarkable that Truitt consistently found affordable studio spaces. By exploring the various homes and studios she occupied, this project examines how these environments influenced her artistic practice and career.
Bibliography
Anne Truitt in Washington: A Conversation with James Meyer and Alexandra Truitt. National Gallery of Art, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h93AouGz04o.
Burleigh, Nina. A Very Private Woman The Life and Unsolved Murder of Presidential Mistress Mary Meyer, 1999. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/b/burleigh-private.html?_r=1&oref=slogin.
Greenberg, Clement. “Anne Truitt, An American Artist,” May 1968. https://archive.vogue.com/article/1968/05/01/anne-truitt-an-american-artist.
“In the Tower: Anne Truitt.” National Gallery of Art, n.d. https://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/press/exh/4952/4952-list.pdf.
“In The Tower: Anne Truitt Exhibition Wall Text.” National Gallery of Art, n.d.
“MARY PINCHOT MEYER.” Jefferson Place Gallery, n.d. https://jeffersonplacegallery.com/mary-pinchot-meyer/#_ftnref2.
Paul, Shilpi. “Dupont Circle’s Old Frat House To Become Alley Home.” DC Real Estate in Real Time, January 2013. https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/frat_house_turned_home_coming_to_dupont_circle/6584.
Truitt, Anne. Anne Truitt, August 2002. http://www.tayvaughan.com/people/anneTruittInterview.html.
Daybook: The Journal of an Artist. Penguin Books, 1984.
Prospect: The Journey of an Artist. Penguin Group USA, 1997.
Yield: The Journal of an Artist. Yale University Press, 2022.
Truitt, Anne, and james Meyer. GRAND ALLUSION, 2002. https://www.artforum.com/features/grand-allusion-163881/.
Sophia Molina
Sophia Molina is a third-year student at Wesleyan University, where she is double majoring in history and art studio. From the Washington, D.C. area, Sophia’s interest in historic preservation was sparked through conducting archival research at her university and volunteering at the Smithsonian archives. This summer, Sophia will be researching women artists of the Washington Color School, with a particular focus on Anne Truitt and her studios across Washington, D.C. Her project aims to explore Truitt’s role within the movement and document the significance of her workspaces in the context of Washingtonian modern art history.