Edith Lake Wilkinson: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|American painter}} |
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| ⚫ | '''Edith Lake Wilkinson''' was an artist who lived and painted in |
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[[File:Edith Lake Wilkinson.jpg|thumb|Edith Lake Wilkinson, 1889, New York City]] |
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| ⚫ | '''Edith Lake Wilkinson''' (August 23, 1868 – July 19, 1957) was an artist who lived and painted in [[Provincetown, Massachusetts]], during the early decades of the 20th century until she was committed to an asylum for the mentally ill in 1924.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://bitchmedia.org/post/a-heartfelt-documentary-unpacks-the-work-of-a-forgotten-lesbian-artist|title=A Heartfelt Documentary Unpacks the Work of a Forgotten Lesbian Artist {{!}} Bitch Media|newspaper=Bitch Media|access-date=2016-11-03}}</ref> Wilkinson's life and work is highlighted in the film ''[[Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson]]''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2016/04/21/works-three-local-documentarians-screened-iffboston/ENsYiMwCdRtOV1oTQX0LpI/story.html|title=Works of three local documentarians to be screened at IFFBoston - The Boston Globe|newspaper=BostonGlobe.com|access-date=2016-11-03}}</ref> |
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== Early life and education == |
== Early life and education == |
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Wilkinson, the daughter of James P. Wilkinson and Lucy Lake Atkinson Wilkinson, was born August 23, 1868 in [[Wheeling, West Virginia]]. |
Wilkinson, the daughter of James P. Wilkinson and Lucy Lake Atkinson Wilkinson, was born August 23, 1868, in [[Wheeling, West Virginia]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.edithlakewilkinson.com/about/chronology|title=Edith Lake Wilkinson - Chronology|website=www.edithlakewilkinson.com|access-date=2016-11-03}}</ref> She moved to New York in 1888, studied at the Arts Student League of New York and earned a degree from Columbia Teacher’s College in 1905.<ref name=":0" /> |
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== Later life and career as painter == |
== Later life and career as painter == |
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Wilkinson spent extensive time in Provincetown from 1914 to 1923 as a member of the Provincetown Art Colony.<ref name=":0" /> She studied art with [[Charles Webster Hawthorne]] and Ambrose Webster, and was good friends with [[Blanche Lazzell]]. She also took up block printing, in particular a method known as the White-Line print, a technique started in 1915 by a group of artists who called themselves The [[Provincetown Printers]]. There are several white-line prints by Wilkinson that are signed and dated 1914, which pre-dates the earliest known prints by any of the others. |
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Wilkinson spent time in in Provincetown from 1914 to 1923 as member of the Provincetown Art Colony.<ref name=":0" /> |
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On February 15, 1922, Edith's elderly parents were overcome by gas fumes in their Wheeling, West Virginia home. Edith's mother died from monoxide poisoning that day while her father was taken to a hospital and died the following day. Edith inherited an estate of approximately $35,000 (worth around $500,000 today) which was administered by local Wheeling attorney George J. Rogers. Years later, Rogers would be indicted for embezzling money from a number of his clients. He eventually declared bankruptcy, left the law profession and, by 1940, was working as a salesman for a household paper products company. |
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Wilkinson had a lesbian relationship with long-term female companion, Fannie Wilkinson, that was not approved of by her family's estate attorney.<ref name=":0" /> In 1924 she was committed to Sheppard Pratt, an asylum for the mentally ill.<ref name=":0" /> Wilkinson who spent the remainder of her life in a sanitarium, continued to paint after being institutionalized.<ref name=":0" /> She was transferred to Huntington State Hospital in West Virginia in 1938 where she remained until she died on July 19, 1957.<ref name=":2" /> |
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While living in New York with her longtime female companion, Fannie Wilkinson of Augusta, Georgia,<ref name=":0" /> Edith received monthly checks from Rogers to cover her rent and daily living expenses. She had expressed an interest in moving back to Provincetown (an idea Rogers tried to discourage) and began studying French in anticipation of a possible trip to Paris. |
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After her death, the painting were shipped to a relative in West Virginia.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/packed-a-trunk-lost-art-762193|title='Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson': Palm Springs Review|newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=2016-11-03}}</ref> |
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On March 22, 1924, Edith was admitted to the [[Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital|Sheppard Pratt Institution]], an asylum for the mentally ill in Baltimore, Maryland <ref name=":0" /> in what was described as a "paranoid state". She was released on October 2 that same year, her condition having sufficiently improved. However, just five months later, on February 10, 1925, she was readmitted to Sheppard & Pratt where she remained for the next ten years. All of Wilkinson's possessions, including most of her artwork, were packed into trunks and shipped to her nephew, Edward Vossler, in Wheeling. |
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In March 1935, Edith was transferred to Huntington State Hospital in West Virginia, still described as paranoid and now, at age 66, showing early signs of dementia. There she remained until her death on July 19, 1957.<ref name=":2" /> There is no evidence that she painted or did any artwork in the 30 years that she was institutionalized. |
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== References == |
== References == |
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{{Reflist}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Edith}} |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:American lesbian artists]] |
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[[Category:Teachers College, Columbia University alumni]] |
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[[Category:People from Wheeling, West Virginia]] |
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[[Category:Painters from West Virginia]] |
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[[Category:Painters from Massachusetts]] |
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[[Category:LGBT people from Massachusetts]] |
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[[Category:LGBT people from West Virginia]] |
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[[Category:1868 births]] |
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[[Category:1957 deaths]] |
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[[Category:20th-century American women painters]] |
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Latest revision as of 19:53, 16 December 2023
Edith Lake Wilkinson (August 23, 1868 – July 19, 1957) was an artist who lived and painted in Provincetown, Massachusetts, during the early decades of the 20th century until she was committed to an asylum for the mentally ill in 1924.[1] Wilkinson's life and work is highlighted in the film Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson.[2]
Early life and education
[edit]Wilkinson, the daughter of James P. Wilkinson and Lucy Lake Atkinson Wilkinson, was born August 23, 1868, in Wheeling, West Virginia.[3] She moved to New York in 1888, studied at the Arts Student League of New York and earned a degree from Columbia Teacher’s College in 1905.[1]
Later life and career as painter
[edit]Wilkinson spent extensive time in Provincetown from 1914 to 1923 as a member of the Provincetown Art Colony.[1] She studied art with Charles Webster Hawthorne and Ambrose Webster, and was good friends with Blanche Lazzell. She also took up block printing, in particular a method known as the White-Line print, a technique started in 1915 by a group of artists who called themselves The Provincetown Printers. There are several white-line prints by Wilkinson that are signed and dated 1914, which pre-dates the earliest known prints by any of the others.
On February 15, 1922, Edith's elderly parents were overcome by gas fumes in their Wheeling, West Virginia home. Edith's mother died from monoxide poisoning that day while her father was taken to a hospital and died the following day. Edith inherited an estate of approximately $35,000 (worth around $500,000 today) which was administered by local Wheeling attorney George J. Rogers. Years later, Rogers would be indicted for embezzling money from a number of his clients. He eventually declared bankruptcy, left the law profession and, by 1940, was working as a salesman for a household paper products company.
While living in New York with her longtime female companion, Fannie Wilkinson of Augusta, Georgia,[1] Edith received monthly checks from Rogers to cover her rent and daily living expenses. She had expressed an interest in moving back to Provincetown (an idea Rogers tried to discourage) and began studying French in anticipation of a possible trip to Paris.
On March 22, 1924, Edith was admitted to the Sheppard Pratt Institution, an asylum for the mentally ill in Baltimore, Maryland [1] in what was described as a "paranoid state". She was released on October 2 that same year, her condition having sufficiently improved. However, just five months later, on February 10, 1925, she was readmitted to Sheppard & Pratt where she remained for the next ten years. All of Wilkinson's possessions, including most of her artwork, were packed into trunks and shipped to her nephew, Edward Vossler, in Wheeling.
In March 1935, Edith was transferred to Huntington State Hospital in West Virginia, still described as paranoid and now, at age 66, showing early signs of dementia. There she remained until her death on July 19, 1957.[3] There is no evidence that she painted or did any artwork in the 30 years that she was institutionalized.
Decades later, her life and art work was featured in a documentary, Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson.[1][2] Today her work is in the collections of The Huntington Museum of Art as well as The Provincetown Art Association and Museum.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "A Heartfelt Documentary Unpacks the Work of a Forgotten Lesbian Artist | Bitch Media". Bitch Media. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
- ^ a b "Works of three local documentarians to be screened at IFFBoston - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
- ^ a b "Edith Lake Wilkinson - Chronology". www.edithlakewilkinson.com. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
| International | |
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| National | |
- American lesbian artists
- Teachers College, Columbia University alumni
- People from Wheeling, West Virginia
- Painters from West Virginia
- Painters from Massachusetts
- LGBT people from Massachusetts
- LGBT people from West Virginia
- 20th-century American painters
- 1868 births
- 1957 deaths
- 20th-century American women painters