1930s Abram Tromka Vintage WPA Expressionist Figurative Oil Painting of a Babushka

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Abram Tromka was born May 1, 1896 in Poland. At the age of seven he immigrated with his family to … Read more Abram Tromka was born May 1, 1896 in Poland. At the age of seven he immigrated with his family to the United States, settling in New York City. It was on the boat coming to New York where Tromka first became interested in art. Fascinated by a woman who was painting, he decided that he wanted to become an artist. Upon arrival at immigration headquarters, Tromka’s family adopted the surname “Phillips,” which he kept until 1930. Hence the artist’s early works bear the signature — ‘Phillips.’

Having a rough childhood, Tromka left home at 15 and spent the remainder of his teenage years living at the Henry Street Settlement. Lilian D. Wald, founder and head of the settlement, was so impressed by young Tromka’s talent for art that the settlement began offering art classes. In 1915, she used his drawings and etchings to illustrate her book, The House on Henry Street. That same year, Tromka began his schooling at the Ferrer School, where he studied under Ashcan artists Robert Henri (1865-1929) and George Bellows (1882-1925) until 1922. Tromka was very impressed by the Ashcan style, and Henri and Bellows especially influenced his artistic development.

In 1927, Tromka befriended the curator of painting at the Brooklyn Museum, Herbert Tschudy who organized Tromka’s first solo exhibition at the museum in 1932. As a resident of Brooklyn, Tromka contributed to the New York arts throughout the rest of his artistic career, participating in many shows and exhibitions in galleries and museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Tromka’s work was most frequently shown at the ACA Gallery in New York City beginning in 1933. Following the success of his first Brooklyn Museum exhibition, his art was also shown throughout the country, and a traveling exhibition of serigraphs including his work was shown in the U.S.S.R.
His work is contemporary to David Burliuk and Nicolai Cikovsky, Ben Shahn and the Moses and Isaac Soyer.
As a member of the New York branch of the American Artists Congress, Tromka participated in membership exhibitions and served on the exhibition committee. He also participated in the Federal Art Project throughout its entire duration from 1935 to 1943. Rather than joining out of necessity, Tromka was invited to the WPA program to offer prestige to the Depression-era program. The industrial subject matter and style of his art during the Art Project continued to resonate with that of Henri’s and Bellows’ realist approach.

Tromka’s artistic style developed fully under the instruction of Robert Henri and George Bellows during his years as a student at the Ferrer School. Henri and Bellows recognized his artistic talent and remained close with Tromka throughout his early years as an artist. Tromka’s broad, sweeping brushstrokes depicting urban subject matter reminisce the realist style of the Ashcan movement of which both Henri and Bellows were involved.
Tromka’s unique, bold style gained him his first solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum during the summer of 1932. Its success led to many subsequent showings of his work during the 1930’s and 1940’s including a 1938 exhibition of his silkscreen prints in the U.S.S.R. In 1935 he was invited to participate in the WPA Federal Art Project at its inception.

1896 Born on May 1 in Poland
1907 Emigrates to the U.S with this family and adopts the American name “Phillips”
1911 Leaves his family and moves into the Henry Street Settlement
1912 Learns to do etching from Nora Hamilton, art teacher at the Henry Street Settlement
1915 Illustrates Lillian D. Wald’s book The House on Henry Street
1915-22 Studies at the Ferrer School under Robert Henri and George Bellows
1923 Moves into a studio at 92 Fourth Avenue N.Y.C.
1927 Meets Herbert Tschudy, curator of painting at the Brooklyn Museum
1930 Changes his surname from Phillips back to Tromka
1932 First solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum
1935-43 Participates in the WPA Federal Art Project
1938, 1939 Exhibits with the American Artists Congress
1943 Exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
1946, 1952 Award, Brooklyn Museum
1948 Award, Butler Art Institute
1948 Award, Long Island Arts Festival
1954 Died at the age of 58 in New York City

COLLECTIONS

BiroBidjan Museum, USSR
Boston Public Library, MA
Brandeis University, MA
Brooklyn Museum, NY
Butler Art Institute, Youngstown, OH
Carnegie Institute
Corcoran Museum, Washington D.C.
Federal Arts Project, WPA
Library of Congress
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
Montclair Art Museum, NJ
Newark Public Library, NJ
Norfolk Museum, VA
Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C.
Syracuse University Museum, NY
Tel Aviv and Ein Harod Museums, Israel

EXHIBITIONS

1932 Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
1932 Brooklyn Museum (solo)
1933, 1935, 1937, 1942, 1950 Brooklyn Museum
1935, 1942 Art Institute of Chicago
1938, 1948 Whitney Museum of American Art
1941, 1944 American Water Color Society
1941, 1944, 1945 Carnegie Institute, PA
1942 A. Albright Gallery
1942 Traveling Exhibition of Serigraphs, USSR
1943 Metropolitan Museum of Art
1943 De Young Memorial Museum, CA

American Artists Congress (New York branch)
Artists Equity Association
Brooklyn Society of Artists
Federal Arts Project
New York Journal-American – Staff artist
Salons of America
Society of Independent Artists See less