Hilda Thorpe
Visual Elements and Design/ Sculptor:
Sky Cloud
Rolling Thunder
Exhibition by Thorpe in Fairfax County, Virginia
Hilda Shapiro Thorpe (1920-2000) was an American sculptor and painter and part of The Washington Color School. Thorpe was a versatile and much-heralded artist who taught a generation of metro Washington, D.C. artists. See, Hilda Thorpe: Sculpture, Paperwork, Painting 1963-1988; Introduction and catalog essays by Elizabeth Tebow; Organized and edited by Lois McArdle.
She was one of the few females who was part of this visual-art movement of the late 1950s through the mid-1960s. The Washington Color School was originally a group of painters who showed works in the “Washington Color Painters” exhibit at the Washington Gallery of Modern Art in Washington, DC from June 25-September 5, 1965. The exhibition subsequently traveled to several other venues in the United States, including the Walker Art Center. The exhibition’s organizer was Gerald “Gerry” Nordland and the painters included Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, Gene Davis, Howard Mehring, Thomas “Tom” Downing, Paul Reed and Hilda Thorpe.
The Washington Color School artists painted largely abstract works, and were central to the larger color field movement. Though not generally considered abstract expressionists, in so far as much of their work is more orderly than—and not apparently motivated by the philosophy behind—abstract expressionism, there are parallels between the Washington Color School and the abstract expressionists largely to their north in New York City. Minimally, the use of stripes, washes, and fields of single colors of paint on canvas were common to most artists in both groups.
Works: Dance for the Earth/ Rolling Thunder (1992); Dance for the Earth/ Rolling Thunder (1992)
Maida on Hilda:
“We were both friends and collaborators. Hilda was an inspiring artist, a generous and inclusive genius. She was known for her many trips with men and women she took to Morocco to draw and paint in response to the dramatic colors there. The amazing blue on the buildings – so intense. Hilda was dearly beloved by all who knew her. Large groups of friends gathered at her Studio in Old Town Alexandria to celebrate her birthday. Hilda invited myself and the Company to celebrate her birthday with performances on two occasions in her studio in “old town” Alexandria, Virginia. In preparation, Hilda would insist the dancers “dig” around in her attic where she stored objects from her installations and other works. We would climb upstairs and search through the attic looking for objects and ideas, materials/objects from Hilda’s history – searching for motivations for performance in celebration of her birthday. Hilda insisted on dancers using her somewhat delicate” hand held objects, often made by Hilda from delicate paper she created and then painted. During that period of time, artists were interested in architecture that did not hide the heating and air conditioning vents and other functional objects behind walls. We enjoyed using her silver aluminum pipes, turning them into crowns, drums, and other transformations in the dance Rolling Thunder, the finale for Dance for the Earth concert..
Tribute to Hilda:
“Hilda invited friends to her home for her special birthday celebration. She retired to bed earlier because she was feeling tired. When I left, about midnight, I called up the stairs, ‘Good Night, Hilda. I love you.’ Hilda passed away in the middle of that night. We were deeply saddened and, also, rejoicing in our final ceremony of love and friendship.” Maida Withers