Gertrude Anna Bertha Hermes was born on 18 August 1901 in
Bickley, Kent. Her parents, Louis August Hermes and Helene, née Gerdes, were from
Altena, near
Dortmund, Germany.[2] In about 1921 she attended the Beckenham School of Art, and in 1922 enrolled at
Leon Underwood's Brook Green School of Painting and Sculpture, where other students included
Eileen Agar,
Raymond Coxon,
Henry Moore and
Blair Hughes-Stanton, whom she married in 1926;[3][4] they separated in 1931, and were divorced in 1933.[2]
Hermes was a contributor to the short-lived publication, Island (1931) that was edited by
Joseph Bard. She was also a commissioned illustrator for
Penguin Books.[5]
Hermes exhibited regularly at the
Royal Academy from 1934, and showed at the
Venice International Exhibition in 1939. In 1937, Hermes produced a commission for the British Pavilion at the
Paris World Fair.[6] She lived and worked in the US and Canada from 1940 to 1945. On her return to England she taught wood engraving and linocutting at the
Central School of Art in London (now Central St Martin's) in the late 1940s to early '50s. She also took a drawing class to
London Zoo. She taught wood and lino block printing at the Royal Academy Schools, from 1966.[7]
Her work is in many public collections including the
Tate,[11] and the
National Portrait Gallery. Her work was also in private collections including a c1926 bronze "Swallow" door knocker in the collection of
David Bowie.[12]
Hermes suffered severe stroke in 1969 that meant she was unable to work. She died in Bristol in 1983.[13]
Notable works
Spring bouquet, 1929, wood engraving
Leda and the Swan, 1932, sculpture
The warrior's tomb, 1941, wood engraving
Bat and Spider, 1932, wood engraving
Other Cats and Henry, 1952, wood engraving
Kathleen Raine, 1954, sculpture
Peacock, 1961, bronze sculpture, for Ordsall High School in
Salford[14]
Exhibitions
1967 Bronzes and Carvings, Drawings, Wood Engravings, Wood and Lino Block Cuts, 1924–1967 Whitechapel Art Gallery
2015 - 2016 Wild Girl: Gertrude Hermes The Hepworth Wakefield. First UK retrospective of Hermes's work in 30 years.[15]
References
^Uproar : the first 50 years of the London Group 1913-63. MacDougall, Sarah., Dickson, Rachel., Ben Uri Art Gallery. London: Ben Uri. 2013.
ISBN978-1-84822-144-4.
OCLC852827675.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (
link)
^
abJames Hamilton (2004).
Hermes, Gertrude Anna Bertha (1901–1983). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved January 2014. (subscription required)
^Uproar : the first 50 years of the London Group 1913-63. MacDougall, Sarah., Dickson, Rachel., Ben Uri Art Gallery. London: Ben Uri. 2013.
ISBN978-1-84822-144-4.
OCLC852827675.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (
link)
^Uproar : the first 50 years of the London Group 1913-63. MacDougall, Sarah., Dickson, Rachel., Ben Uri Art Gallery. London: Ben Uri. 2013.
ISBN978-1-84822-144-4.
OCLC852827675.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (
link)
^Uproar : the first 50 years of the London Group 1913-63. MacDougall, Sarah., Dickson, Rachel., Ben Uri Art Gallery. London: Ben Uri. 2013. p. 179.
ISBN978-1-84822-144-4.
OCLC852827675.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (
link)
^Uproar : the first 50 years of the London Group 1913-63. MacDougall, Sarah., Dickson, Rachel., Ben Uri Art Gallery. London: Ben Uri. 2013.
ISBN978-1-84822-144-4.
OCLC852827675.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (
link)
^Miss Gertrude Anna Bertha Hermes OBE. Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851–1951. University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011. Retrieved January 2014.