Gertrude Greene (American, 1904–1956). <em>Construction in Ochre</em>, 1941. Oil, wood, and Masonite on Masonite, 36 1/8 x 24in. (91.8 x 61cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Balcomb Greene, 66.230. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 66.230_bw.jpg)

Gertrude Greene (American, 1904–1956). Construction in Ochre, 1941. Oil, wood, and Masonite on Masonite, 36 1/8 x 24in. (91.8 x 61cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Balcomb Greene, 66.230. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 66.230_bw.jpg)

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Did Greene live and work in New York? Did she attend art school?

Yes, Gertrude Greene was a native New Yorker whose parents owned a department store in Brooklyn. She studied art at the Leonardo da Vinci Art School in Manhattan.

Her husband, Balcomb Greene, was also a well-known artist who explored abstraction in his art. He gave this work to the Brooklyn Museum.

Another quick note: her maiden name was Gertrude Glass.

Construction in Ochre

Gertrude Greene

American Art

Is this a painting, a sculpture, or both? Gertrude Greene is credited with having been the first American artist to create completely abstract wood reliefs such as this one. She was a founder (in 1936) of American Abstract Artists, an organization that promoted the work of American artists who felt that their art was overshadowed by their more famous European contemporaries.

ARTIST Gertrude Greene, American, 1904–1956

MEDIUM Oil, wood, and Masonite on Masonite

DATES 1941

DIMENSIONS 36 1/8 x 24in. (91.8 x 61cm) frame: 40 5/8 x 28 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (103.2 x 72.4 x 4.4 cm) (show scale)

SIGNATURE Signed verso in chalk: "Gertrude Greene / 1941"

COLLECTIONS American Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 66.230

CREDIT LINE Gift of Balcomb Greene

EXHIBITIONS

American Identities: A New Look

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Gertrude Greene (American, 1904–1956). Construction in Ochre, 1941. Oil, wood, and Masonite on Masonite, 36 1/8 x 24in. (91.8 x 61cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Balcomb Greene, 66.230. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 66.230_bw.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 66.230_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Did Greene live and work in New York? Did she attend art school?

Yes, Gertrude Greene was a native New Yorker whose parents owned a department store in Brooklyn. She studied art at the Leonardo da Vinci Art School in Manhattan.

Her husband, Balcomb Greene, was also a well-known artist who explored abstraction in his art. He gave this work to the Brooklyn Museum.

Another quick note: her maiden name was Gertrude Glass.