Lily Spandorf
Lily Spandorf (1914–2000) was an Austrian-American artist best known for her work depicting daily life in Washington, D.C. She was also the second female stamp designer in the United States.{{Cite web |title=Elaine Rawlinson: first female U.S. stamp designer |url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/elaine-rawlinson-first-female-us-stamp-designer |access-date=2023-11-19 |website=postalmuseum.si.edu |language=en}}
Career
Spandorf was born in Austria and attended the Vienna Academy of Art and St. Martin's School of Art. After school, she traveled to Italy and began painting scenes outdoors. She came to the United States in 1959, and settled in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. in 1960.{{Cite news |last=Walker |first=Angela |date=1988-11-17 |title=IN SILENT PROTEST, ARTIST CAPTURES CITY'S 'NEVER MORE' |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1988/11/17/in-silent-protest-artist-captures-citys-never-more/4da152fc-a937-4374-be42-969695d643bf/ |access-date=2023-03-26 |issn=0190-8286}}
Her news illustrations were published in The Washington Star, Christian Science Monitor, The Georgetowner, and The Washington Post, among other outlets.{{Cite web |title=For the Record: The Art of Lily Spandorf {{!}} The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum {{!}} The George Washington University |url=https://museum.gwu.edu/for-the-record-art-lily-spandorf |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=museum.gwu.edu}}
Spandorf said "I draw wherever I go."{{Cite web |title=Washington Journal: Thursday {{!}} C-SPAN.org |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?68646-1/washington-journal-thursday |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=www.c-span.org}} She created "watercolor documentaries" or "on-the-spot paintings" of the city. To facilitate this, she packed her minimal supplies and a folding stool in a two-wheeled cart.{{Cite news |last=Montgomery |first=David |date=1998-12-28 |title=A PERENNIAL DRAW PICTURES THE DISTRICT |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1998/12/28/a-perennial-draw-pictures-the-district/d13071b3-9be3-4145-8e17-492e330540dd/ |access-date=2023-03-26 |issn=0190-8286}}
She was known for her depictions of historic D.C. buildings, many of which no longer exist.{{Cite web |date=2009-04-28 |title=Artist Lily Spandorf Paints a Vanishing Washington |url=https://www.rollcall.com/2009/04/28/artist-lily-spandorf-paints-a-vanishing-washington/ |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=Roll Call |language=en}} A number of these views were compiled into Washington Never More in 1988.{{Cite web |title=Lily Spandorf Drawings |url=https://folklife.si.edu/archives-and-resources/lily-spandorf-drawings |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage |language=en-US}}
She also documented major events and festivals. She documented the annual White House Christmas festivities.{{Cite web |title=Exhibit on White House Christmases Opens at Visitor Center |url=https://www.whitehousehistory.org/press-room/press-releases/exhibit-on-white-house-christmases-opens-at-visitor-center |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=WHHA (en-US) |language=en}} Her artwork was used for the 1963 5c National Christmas Tree stamp.{{Cite news |last=Montgomery |first=David |date=1998-12-28 |title=A PERENNIAL DRAW PICTURES THE DISTRICT |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1998/12/28/a-perennial-draw-pictures-the-district/d13071b3-9be3-4145-8e17-492e330540dd/ |access-date=2023-03-26 |issn=0190-8286}} Her sketches of the filming of Otto Preminger's Advise and Consent were displayed at the Washington premier of the film and at the National Press Club upon its 1987 re-release.{{Cite web |title=U.S. Senate: Featured Biography: Lily Spandorf |url=https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/artist-biography/spandorf-lily.htm |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=www.senate.gov}} She documented every Smithsonian Folklife Festival from its inception until her death; 754 of these sketches are held by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage.{{Cite web |title=Lily Spandorf Drawings |url=https://folklife.si.edu/archives-and-resources/lily-spandorf-drawings |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage |language=en-US}}
Public exhibits and collections
- [https://acw.wildapricot.org/event-3506562 Travels With Lily: England, Italy and Washington D.C.], 2019, Arts Club of Washington
- [https://museum.gwu.edu/for-the-record-art-lily-spandorf For the Record: The Art of Lily Spandorf], 2015–2016, The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum
- [https://rollcall.com/2009/04/28/artist-lily-spandorf-paints-a-vanishing-washington/ Lily Spandorf: Washington Never More], 2009, Historical Society of Washington, D.C.
- [https://www.whitehousehistory.org/press-room/press-releases/exhibit-on-white-house-christmases-opens-at-visitor-center Impressions of a White House Christmas], 1997–1998, White House Visitor Center
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spandorf, Lily}}
Category:American people of Austrian descent