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Joyce Reopel

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Joyce Reopel
BornJanuary 21, 1933
Worcester, MA
DiedJanuary 16, 2019
Portsmouth, NH
EducationWorcester Art Museum School; Ruskin School of Drawing & Fine Arts, Oxford University
Known forsilver- and goldpoint drawings, paintings and sculpture
MovementBoston Expressionism
SpouseMel Zabarsky
AwardsAmerican Academy of Arts & Letters: Arts & Letters Award; Ford Foundation Grant; National Institute of Arts & Letters (NIAL) Grant; Radcliffe Scholar; Yale-Norfolk Fellowship; Harvard/Radcliffe Bunting Institute Fellowship
Websitehttps:// joycereopel

Joyce Reopel(1933–2019) was an American painter, draughtswoman and sculptor who worked in pencil,aquatint,silver- and goldpoint, and an array of old master media. ABoris Mirski Galleryveteran, from 1959 to 1966,[1]she was known for her refined skills and virtuosity. She was also one of very few women[2][3]in the early group of Boston artists that included fellow artist and husbandMel Zabarsky... ], and others who helped overcome Boston's conservative distaste for the avant-garde, occasionally female, and often Jewish artists later classified as Boston expressionists. Unique to New England,Boston Expressionismhas had lasting local and national influence, and is now in its third generation.

Work

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Known for her finely wrought detail and lush sensuality,[4]New YorkMagazine called Reopel "an artisan as well as an artist", while praising her renderings of the figure because "[t]he artist seems consistently to search out that which lies behind the physical trait. And having discovered it, she presents it in whispers, with unusual understatement and economy."[5]The results range from expressive realism to subtle surrealism and outright grotesquerie.

A student of sculptorLeonard Baskinat theWorcester Art Museum School,then known as the "Mini-Met",[6]Reopel shared his fascination with the human form, and his interest in fine arts printing, woodcut, sculpture, etching and typography.[7][8][9]Her earliest work can be seen in a 1953 version of T.S. Eliot'sThe Hollow Men,which she illustrated and helped typeset as an art student.[10]In 1958, she created pen-and-ink cover illustrations for Boston'sAudience: A Quarterly Review of Literature and the Artsin an issue featuring several ofAnne Sexton's poems and interior illustration byArthur Polonsky.She also designed many of the catalogues for her 1960s and 1970saquatint,silver- and goldpoint exhibitions at Boston'sBoris Mirski Gallery[1]and, in New York, the Corber Gallery[5][11]and founder Bella Fishco's Forum Gallery.[12][13][14]

As Reopel's work matured, its subtly emotive, even melancholy, rendering of its subjects, were often lyrical in the vein of fellow Boston ExpressionistArthur Polonsky.[15]Her distinctive palette evolved from glints of silver, gold and lead-gray in the early years to subtle tones of grayed blue and green when she turned to oil painting.[4]Her old-master technical skill, meanwhile, reflected an interest in history that was also sometimes reflected in her depictions of historical themes or classical icons.

Education, Awards & Honors

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A graduate of the Worcester Art Museum School, Reopel also spent two years studying at theRuskin School of Drawing and Fine Artsat Oxford University. Earning recognition and laudits for her work, Reopel was the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including aRadcliffe Institute Fellowshipat theBunting Institute(since renamed the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard) and a grant as a Radcliffe Scholar for Independent Study; a fellowship toYale Norfolk School of Art;a grant then under Princeton's aegis at theNational Institute of Arts & Letters(NIAL); aFord Foundationgrant in sculpture and drawing; the American Academy of Arts & LettersArts & LettersAward;and a research grant fromWheaton College.

Exhibitions

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Collections

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Archives

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Reopel (Zabarsky), Joyce:

Publications/Notable Reproductions

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  • The Hollow Men,WAM Press, Reopel and Sorenson, 1953
  • Joyce Reopel: Drawings in silverpoint and goldpoint, November 9th through December 4th,1965
  • Joyce Reopel: Drawings in silverpoint, goldpoint, and pencil: January 22nd through February 15th,1969
  • The Liberal Context,Issues 1–9, 1–17. Edited by Cudhea, David W., with Anne Chiarenza, Gobin Stair, Orloff Miller. Published by College Centers Committee of American Unitarian Association in cooperation with Liberal Religious Youth (LRY) Inc. Art by Joyce Reopel and others, 1961-1966

Personal life

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Born in Worcester, MA in 1933, and raised in nearby Auburn, Reopel was the only child of homemaker Ada (née Anderson) and musician Ernest J. Reopel, Jr.[16]A first cousin to scientistPaul Englundon her mother's side, Reopel was also a distant cousin to renowned French Canadian painterJean-Paul Riopelle,Grand Officer of theNational Order of Québec,on her father's.[17]In 1955, she married painter and fellow Worcester Art Museum School graduateMel Zabarsky.[16]

Her other professional endeavors included time spent teaching at theSwain School of Design,theUniversity of New Hampshireand elsewhere.[18]In 1976, her life-long interest in politics[19]helped win her a two-year term in theNew Hampshire House of Representatives.[18]A respect for history and passion for architecture led to her interest in preservation, the documented history of her own house,[20]and the founding of thePortsmouth Historic District Commission.[16]

Bibliography

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  • Butler, Cornelia H.,et al.WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution.United Kingdom: Museum of Contemporary Art, 2007.ISBN978-0-914357-99-5,0-914357-99-9
  • Falk, Peter Hastings (ed).Who Was Who in American Art, 1564-1975: 400 years of artists in America.(3 Volumes.) Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1999. ISBNISBN978-0-932087-57-7
  • Lafo, Rachel R.Painting in Boston: 1950-2000.University of Massachusetts Press, 2002;ISBN978-1-55849-364-3
  • Nemser, Cindy,et al.Feminist Art Journal,vol. 3, no. 1, 1974.JSTOR28036286.Accessed 30 Aug. 2021.
  • Schwartz, Barry.The New Humanism: Art in a Time of Change.Praeger Publishers, 1974;ISBN978-0715368251
  • Walkey, Frederick P.New England Women.Decordova Museum, 1975;OCLC2378529
  • Audience: The Quarterly Review of Literature & the Arts,Vol. 5, Issue 3. Audience Press, 1958;ISBN9780960177424
  • Collected Visions: Women Artists at the Bunting Institute,1961-1986, Cambridge, Mass.: Mary Ingraham Bunting Institute, Radcliffe College, 1986;ISBN978-0960177424
  • Humanism in New England Art.De Cordova Museum Publisher, Lincoln, MA, 1970;ISBN1-55849-364-6

Notes

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  1. ^ab"Smithsonian Institution: Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives".A Finding Aid to the Boris Mirski Gallery Records, 1936-2000, bulk 1945-1972, in the Archives of American Art.Jun 15, 2019.
  2. ^Collected visions: Women artists at the Bunting Institute, 1961-1986.Cambridge, MA: Mary Ingraham Bunting Institute, Radcliffe College. 1986.ISBN978-0960177424.
  3. ^Walkey, Frederick P. (1975).New England Women.Lincoln, MA: Decordova Museum.
  4. ^abDeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park (2002).Painting in Boston, 1950-2000.Lincoln, MA: Univ of Massachusetts Press.ISBN1-55849-364-6.
  5. ^abGruen, John (Feb 10, 1969)."Art in New York: Trickery without Gimmickry".New York Magazine:54.
  6. ^Waschek, Matthias (May–June 2019)."Inventing and Reinventing the Worcester Art Museum".Art New England.May–June 2019.
  7. ^Michelson, R. (June 15, 2019)."Leonard Baskin: Gehenna Press Printwork".Gehenna Press Printwork — Leonard Baskin — R. Michelson Galleries.
  8. ^Moore, Scattergood (Jun 15, 2019)."The Art of Printmaking".The Art of Printmaking.
  9. ^"Collection: Archive of Noel Chanan, photographer | Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts".archives.bodleian.ox.ac.uk.Retrieved2023-05-01.
  10. ^Bair, Lorne (Jun 12, 2019)."101 Books from the Library of Ben and Bernarda Bryson Shahn and Lorne Bair Rare Books"(PDF).Lorne Bair.p. 17.RetrievedJun 12,2019.
  11. ^Cober Gallery, New York (1965)."Joyce Reopel: Drawings in Silverpoint and Goldpoint, November 9th Through December 4th, 1965".
  12. ^"Forum Gallery".About Forum Gallery.June 15, 2019.
  13. ^"Forum Gallery records, 1961-1990 | Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution".Smithsonian: Archives of American Art. Forum Gallery records, 1961-1990.June 15, 2019.
  14. ^"Forum Gallery (New York, N.Y.) | Archives Directory for the History of Collecting".The Frick Collection: Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America.June 15, 2019.
  15. ^Marquard, Bryan (April 18, 2019)."Arthur Polonsky, Boston Expressionist artist and teacher, dies at 93 - The Boston Globe".The Boston Globe.
  16. ^abc"Joyce Reopel Zabarsky: Obituary, 1933-2019".Seacoast Online.Jan 25, 2019.RetrievedJune 15,2019.
  17. ^"Jean Paul Riopelle | The Canadian Encyclopedia".thecanadianencyclopedia.ca.Retrieved2023-05-01.
  18. ^ab"Zabarsky candidate for house".The Portsmouth Herald.Aug 4, 1976.RetrievedMay 9,2019.
  19. ^Cudhea, David W. (1961–1966)."The Liberal Context".The Liberal Context.
  20. ^"Joyce Reopel Zabarsky Historic Preservation Papers (MS067)".Joyce Reopel Zabarsky Historic Preservation Papers (MS067) | Portsmouth Atheneaum.June 15, 2019.
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