Leon Gilmour
{{Short description|Russian Empire-born American printmaker (1907–1996)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Leon Gilmour
| alt = Leon Gilmour
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1907|07|25}}
| birth_place = Riga, Russian Empire (now Latvia)
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1996|03|31|1907|07|25}}
| death_place = Burlingame, California, U.S.
| resting_place = Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California, U.S.
| education = School of Practical Art,
Otis College of Art and Design
| occupation = Designer, visual artist, illustrator, art director, printmaker
| years_active = 1930s–1980s
| known_for = Wood engraving
| movement = Regionalism, Social realist
| spouse = Helen Bernice Gilmour
}}
Leon Gilmour (1907–1996) was a Russian-born American visual artist, designer, teacher, illustrator, and laborer. He is best known for his social realist, wood engravings featuring laborers, or the California landscape and nature. His work is often associated with the Regionalist artists.
Biography
Leon Gilmour was born on July 25, 1907, in Riga, Russian Empire (now Latvia).{{Cite web|url=https://www.annexgalleries.com/artists/biography/811/Gilmour/Leon|title=Leon Gilmour Biography|website=Annex Galleries Fine Prints|language=en|access-date=2018-07-02}} He immigrated to the United States through Ellis Island in March 1916, at the age of nine.{{Cite web|url=http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/8aa/8aa192a.htm|title=American Printmakers and the Federal Art Project|last=Francey|first=Mary|website=Artist Essays: FAP Printmakers|access-date=2018-07-02}}
Early in his career he studied at the School of Practical Art in Boston (now Lesley University).{{Cite web|url=http://larryrippeeandmollyreaart.blogspot.com/2011/06/interview-with-printmakers-lawrence-and.html|title=Interview with printmakers Lawrence and Zach Gilmour|last1=Rippee|first1=Larry|last2=Rea|first2=Molly|date=2011-06-28|website=Larry Rippee and Molly Rea Art|access-date=2018-07-02}} Gilmour held a series of labor jobs in order to support himself, including working as a: construction worker in New York City, field hand in the Midwest, gold miner in Colorado, and as a truck driver in Los Angeles, California. In 1931, Gilmour moved to Los Angeles to attend Otis College of Art and Design and studied wood engraving with artist Paul Landacre.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ifpda.org/artist/883|title=Leon Gilmour Biography|date=2016|website=International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA)|access-date=2018-07-02}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m2J4BgAAQBAJ|title=American Scenes: WPA-Era Prints from the 1930s and 1940s|publisher=La Salle University Art Museum|year=2014|pages=90|isbn=9780988999923}} In 1933 he worked for Public Works of Art Project and later for the through the succeeding government program, the Federal Art Project (FAP).
He taught classes at the University of Southern California and had later careers as a designer, illustrator, and art director.{{Cite web|url=http://neartexchange.com/print/volcanic-rock|title=Volcanic Rock {{!}} New England Art Exchange|website=neartexchange.com|access-date=2018-07-02}} In 1951, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to act as art director for the H.S. Crocker Lithography Company.{{Cite web|url=http://www.askart.com/artist_bio/Leon_Gilmour/10020367/Leon_Gilmour.aspx|title=Artist Biography for Leon Gilmour|website=Askart.com|access-date=2018-07-02}} He was a member of the American Artist's Congress. Together with his wife Helen they had a son, Lawrence Gilmour.{{Cite news|url=http://www.marinij.com/article/ZZ/20100712/NEWS/100719593|title=Forest Knolls man follows in the footsteps of his father and grandfather as a printmaker|last=Liberatore|first=Paul|date=2010-07-12|work=Marin Independent Journal|access-date=2018-07-02|language=en}}
Death and legacy
Gilmour died on March 31, 1996, in Burlingame, California.{{Cite web|url=https://americanart.si.edu/artist/leon-gilmour-5735|title=Leon Gilmour|website=Smithsonian American Art Museum|language=en|access-date=2018-07-02}}
Gilmour is included in Edan Milton Hughes book, "Artists in California, 1786–1940". His son Lawrence and a grandson, Zach Gilmour, are printmakers in Northern California.
Collections
Gilmour's artwork is featured in many public art collections and museums, including: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) within the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts department,{{Cite news|url=https://art.famsf.org/leon-gilmour|title=Leon Gilmour|date=2015-05-08|work=FAMSF Explore the Art|access-date=2018-07-02|language=en}} Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art,{{Cite web|url=http://collection.crystalbridges.org/objects/details/3199;jsessionid=F558E9E8BC7392C5C31F9A0021F63084|title=Collection: Cement Finishers|website=Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art|access-date=2018-07-02}} National Gallery of Art,{{Cite web|url=https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.148502.html|title=Collection: Let the Living Rise|website=National Gallery of Art (NGA)|access-date=2018-07-02}} Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri–St. Louis,{{Cite web|url=http://gallery.umsl.edu/v/Mercantile/Fine+Art+Collection/Labor+Art/Gilmour.jpg.html|title=Collection|website=University of Missouri–St Louis}} San Jose Museum of Art,{{Cite web|url=http://collection.sjmusart.org/THA441?sid=1058&x=179595|title=Collection: Gilmour|website=San Jose Museum of Art|access-date=2018-07-02}} Columbus Museum of Art,{{Cite news|url=https://www.columbusmuseum.org/embark-collection/pages/THA30670/?sid=15&x=465830|title=Embark Collection|date=2016-01-27|work=Columbus Museum of Art|access-date=2018-07-02|language=en-US}} New Britain Museum of American Art,{{Cite web|url=http://ink.nbmaa.org:8080/emuseum/objects/3020/cement-finishers;jsessionid=FCA9775C2CBCB7A56FB725CF3DFF7F39?ctx=75fdb570-dd87-4f64-830d-59ecf307036f&idx=154|title=Collection: Cement Finishers|website=New Britain Museum of Art}} Flint Institute of Arts,{{Cite web|url=https://flintarts.org/art/objects/4208|title=Cement Finishers|website=Flint Institute of Arts|language=en|access-date=2018-07-02}} and many others.
Exhibitions
- 2009 – California in Relief: A History in Wood and Linocut Prints at Hearst Art Gallery, curated by Art Hazelwood, Hearst Art Gallery at Saint Mary's College of California, Moraga, California{{Cite web|url=http://artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=31161&b=juan#.WznEOBJKiAw|title=California in Relief: A History in Wood and Linocut Prints at Hearst Art Gallery|last=Villarreal|first=Ignacio|website=artdaily.com|language=en|access-date=2018-07-02}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2009/08/05/california-history-in-print/|title=California history in print|date=2009-08-05|work=East Bay Times|access-date=2018-07-02|language=en-US}}
- 2010 – Three Generations of California Printmakers: The Works of Leon, Lawrence and Zachary Gilmour, San Geronimo Valley Community Center, San Geronimo, California
- 2014 – International Wood Engraving Invitational, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, Washington{{Cite news|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/davidson-galleriesrsquo-lsquowood-engraving-invitationalrsquo/|title=Davidson Galleries' 'Wood Engraving Invitational'|last=Upchurch|first=Michael|date=2014-01-17|work=The Seattle Times|access-date=2018-07-02|language=en-US}}
- 2017–2018 – Crossroads: American Scene Prints from Thomas Hart Benton to Grant Wood, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, California{{Cite web|url=http://www.metroactive.com/arts/San-Jose-Museum-of-Art-Crossroads.html|title=San Jose Museum of Art: 'Crossroads'|last=Edalatpour|first=Jeffrey|date=December 20, 2017|website=Metroactive|access-date=2018-07-02}}{{Cite news|url=https://sjmusart.org/exhibition/crossroads-american-scene-prints-thomas-hart-benton-grant-wood|title=Exhibitions + Collection, Crossroads: American Scene Prints from Thomas Hart Benton to Grant Wood|date=2017-08-28|work=San José Museum of Art|access-date=2018-07-02|language=en}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.mutualart.com/Exhibition/Crossroads--American-Scene-Prints-from-T/2F1015997796E050|title=Crossroads: American Scene Prints from Thomas Hart Benton to Grant Wood|website=MutualArt.com|language=en|access-date=2018-07-02}}
References
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Category:20th-century engravers
Category:American wood engravers
Category:Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States
Category:Federal Art Project artists
Category:Otis College of Art and Design alumni
Category:People from Burlingame, California
Category:Public Works of Art Project artists