Weaving Networks: Intersectional Matrilineage in The Life of Trude Guermonprez

Adams, Phoebe Grace

Publication

Weaving Networks: Intersectional Matrilineage in The Life of Trude Guermonprez

Adams, Phoebe Grace

Date

2021

Abstract

This thesis employs matrilineage as a critical lens through which, I propose, art historians can study networks of women artists. My case study is the life of the weaver Trude Guermonprez, who emigrated to the United alongside many other Jewish women artists who fled persecution because of their religion and artistic censorship. The goal of this research is to examine the role of matrilineage in American craft communities as a critical tool for helping women navigate educational institutions after World War II. Studying the development of weaving communities through a matrilineal lens is key to understanding how weaving is passed from generation to generation. I also investigate the role of matrilineage in Jewish post-war communities. By examining matrilineal networks in the context of post-migration community-building by women artists, I can provide more insight into Guermonprez's influence as an educator. I use interviews with her former students and colleagues as my primary evidence for the argument that matrilineage played a key role in Guermonprez's accomplishments as both teacher and artist. I also propose that, beyond Guermonprez, matrilineage is a theoretical framework that art historians can employ in search of a more equitable and diverse canon.