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One of the best-known artists of Louisiana and the American South: Ida Kohlmeyer

Author: Jenna Miller
by Jenna Miller
Posted: Mar 27, 2021

One of the best-known artists of Louisiana and the American South: Ida Kohlmeyer

Ida Kohlmeyer struggled to find her own style for years. She trained with some of the leading Modernists and Abstract Expressionists of the 20th century, including Hans Hofmann. Artists like Mark Rothko and Joan MirĂ³ constantly rotated through Kohlmeyer's social circle. However, she gradually developed an artistic language of her own. At the time of her death in 1997, Kohlmeyer was among the best-known artists in Louisiana and the American South.

Ahlers & Ogletree will feature mixed media work by Ida Kohlmeyer in the first session of the upcoming Spring Fine Estates & Collection sale. The auction will begin at 10:00 AM EDT on March 27, 2021. Learn more about Kohlmeyer before the bidding begins.

The daughter of Polish Jewish immigrants, Ida Kohlmeyer was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Art was only a casual interest for most of her early life. Kohlmeyer earned an English degree from Tulane University Women's College in the 1930s before settling down to start a family. After her marriage, she was especially drawn to Latin American art and literature. Kohlmeyer began to envision a career in art after World War II. She spent the next decade taking classes in the French Quarter, returning to Tulane for her master's degree, and studying with Hans Hofmann in Massachusetts.

Kohlmeyer caught the attention of many prominent Abstract Expressionists. Mark Rothko taught at her school for a time and rented a studio from Kohlmeyer. She counted Pat Trivigno among his mentors. These connections helped Kohlmeyer establish himself in the art world, but also caused a delay in her independent style. Her works from this early period seem to examine the abstract expressionist field. Some are almost serial and explore variations on the same themes. "These works may be derivative, but they are gloriously so," wrote Roberta Smith for The New York Times. "They are so full of the work of disparate artists that they become dominant, wasting the term."

By the 1970s, Kohlmeyer had established himself in a niche. She found solace in abstraction, often exploring the interplay of shapes and colors in neat boxes. These grids and color studies dominate many of her paintings and mixed media works of hers. She named them "Cluster Drawings" and produced them during the 1980s.

One of Kohlmeyer's "Cluster" works will be auctioned this month with Ahlers & Ogletree. Executed in 1975, the mixed media piece spent the past 44 years in a private Atlanta collection. Features the artist's signature grid design with 12 rows of drawn circles. Each contains a touch of color or a violent stroke, which plays with the others while remaining largely autonomous. This job has a presale estimate of $ 9,000 to $ 12,000. There are various other jobs of many other artists, to go through it see the Auction Previews of Auctiondaily.

Due to Kohlmeyer's late start, few of her works make it to auction. However, recent sales still affirm her role in Abstract Expressionism and the Louisiana art scene. Collector interest has been on the rise since a 2004 retrospective at the Newcomb Art Gallery. In 2015, Kohlmeyer's first "Cluster" painting was handed over to Neal Auction Company. The piece, which displays a grid of 15 colored squares, sold for $ 90,000 after 17 offers. His other "Cluster" grid paintings regularly top $ 50,000, while his mixed media works generally sell for $ 5,000 to $ 20,000.

The late artist quickly became a powerful abstract expressionist in the American South. She also began to push the limits on the field. Kohlmeyer was inspired by her fellow artists and the rising tide of feminism. She later explored the Plexiglas sculptures characterized by their vibrant colors and sharp angles.

At the end of her life, Kohlmeyer had no regrets. She treasured the opportunity to explore her passion for art in middle age. Kohlmeyer spoke about her journey with The Times-Picayune in 1995: "I guess she seemed like a perfect dilettante. Still, I think it's appalling to see people stop living the life they want, blame middle age or children, and settle for much less than they are capable of. "

Media source: Auctiondaily

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I write on arts, paintings, auctions, and all other allied niches.

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Author: Jenna Miller

Jenna Miller

Member since: Mar 09, 2021
Published articles: 18

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