Edith London (German-American, 1904-1997), Concertante

Oil on linen, 1989, signed and dated at lower left, presented in a floater frame.

Stretcher size 36 x 38 in.; Frame dimensions 37 1/4 x 39 in.

From the Collection of Sylvia Kerckhoff, first female mayor of Durham, North Carolina (1993-1997)

Somerhill Gallery at Straw Valley, Durham, North Carolina

Berlin-born artist Edith Caspary London was exposed to art from a young age, her extended family included writers and sculptors. London attended the University of Berlin, took classes at Berlin’s Federation of Women Artists, and was introduced to the work of Henri Matisse.

In 1933, Edith and her husband left Germany and she continued her studies at Oxford, England, followed by three years at Academie Andre Lhote in Paris. Eventually, their family immigrated to the United States settling in Durham, North Carolina. After her husband’s death, she was employed by the art history department at Duke, a position she held from 1955 until 1969.

London achieved local and statewide recognition, including the North Carolina Award in Fine Arts. The North Carolina Museum of Art mounted an exhibition of her collages in 1988, followed by a retrospective organized by the Durham Art Guild four years later.

Good estate condition.