Ida Abelman
Ida York Abelman (1910–2002) was an American artist and muralist in the 1930s. Abelman was known as a Social Realist. She was born Ida York and lived her early life in New York City.
Also recorded as Ida York Abelman
Ida Abelman
- Born
- 1910 · New York City.
- Died
- 2002
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- painter
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wikidata · Q18926872 · wikipedia · Ida Abelman
In this article
Education
Education
At the age of 19 she married Larry Abelman, also an artist.
She attended Hunter College, and studied at the Grand Central School of Art, the National Academy School of Fine Arts, and the City College of New York. She was a member of the American Artists' Congress and was hired by the Federal Art Project and the Works Progress Administration (WPA), both a part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs for artists.
Works
Works
Abelman was known for her graphic work that she produced during the Depression. She was heavily influenced by Constructivism, Surrealism, and Social realism. Her works often portrays a machine aesthetic by combining machine parts with human or organic forms to convey the positive and negative aspects of a mechanized society. Abelman silhouetted her compositions against the full sheet of paper, imparting an abstracted strength to the lithographs that is a hallmark of her personal style. Her work can be found in several published sources including American Prints of the 1930s (University of Michigan Museum of Art), The Machine Age in American Art, (Brooklyn Museum), 20th Century Prints (Queens College), and A Simple and Vital Design: The Story of the Indiana Post Office Murals (Indiana Historical Society).
Federal Art Project involvement
Federal Art Project involvement
Abelman was part of the staff of the Graphic Arts Division of the Federal Art Project in New York City from 1936 through 1939. Her artistic point of view and printmaking style made her work particularly suitable to the Project; images of industrial workers and elements of machinery were common parts of her iconography. Two of her prints for the Federal Art Project that illustrate this style are Man and Machine, c. 1939, and Construction, 1939.
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Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Ida Abelman, revision 1341402564 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Geyer, Andrea. Revolt, They Said. andreageyer.info.
- 2.Art & Social Issues in American Culture. Artist Biographies:Ida Abelman. artandsocialissues.cmaohio.org.
- 3.Full text of "Between the wars : women artists of the Whitney Studio Club and Museum.". archive.org.
- 4.Ida Abelman Biography Annex Galleries Fine Prints. www.annexgalleries.com.
- 5.Living New Deal. Artist: Ida Abelman. livingnewdeal.org.
- 6.Carlisle, John C., "A Simple and Vital Design: The Story of the Indiana Post Office Murals", Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis, 1995 pp 20–21
- 7.Mavicliano, George H., and Richard A. Lawson, The Federal Art Project in Illinois: 1935–1943, Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale 1990, p167
- 8.Abelman wpamurals.com
- 9.Carlisle, John C., "A Simple and Vital Design: The Story of the Indiana Post Office Murals", Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis, 1995
- 10.Carlton-Smith, Kimn. A New Deal for Women: Women Artists and the Federal Art Project, 1935-1939. Rutgers The State University of New Jersey. 1990.
- 11.National Gallery of Art. Man and Machine.
- 12.National Gallery of Art. Construction.
References
Citations
References
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Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 25 August 2026.
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