Agnes Lawrence Pelton

Agnes Lawrence Pelton (August 22, 1881 – March 13, 1961) was a modernist painter who was born in Germany and moved to the United States as a child. She studied art in the United States and Europe. She made portraits of Pueblo Native Americans, desert landscapes and still lifes. Pelton's work evolved through at least three distinct themes: her early "Imaginative Paintings," art of the American Southwest people and landscape, and abstract art that reflected her spiritual beliefs. She was a first cousin of American sculptor Laura Gardin Fraser.

Early life Agnes Lawrence Pelton was born in Stuttgart, Germany to American parents, William and Florence Pelton. Due to her poor health, Agnes was educated at home and her mother and Arthur Whiting taught her piano.

Pelton had her studios in Greenwich Village

Posthumous exhibitions and legacy "Agnes Pelton, Poet of Nature", a 1995-1996 retrospective exhibition of her work, brought national attention to her work.

In 2009, her work was exhibited with those of three other Modernist artists: Georgia O'Keeffe, Florence Miller Pierce, and Agnes Martin. A 192-page catalog accompanied the exhibition. From March to September 2019, the Phoenix Art Museum held an exhibition featuring over 40 of Pelton's works. From March 13 to June 28, 2020, Whitney Museum of American Art held an exhibit organized by the Phoenix Art Museum, "Agnes Pelton: The Desert Transcendentalist".

The Agnes Pelton Society was founded in 2013 to promote Pelton's life and legacy.

Collections

Honolulu Museum of Art, Hawaii The Raymond Jonson Collection, University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque New Mexico Museum of Art Oakland Museum of California Palm Springs Art Museum, California Palladino/Den Historic Home of Agnes Pelton, Cathedral City Cove, California Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, New York Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona: Messengers, 1932; Day, 1935 San Diego Museum of Art, California: The Primal Wing, 1933 Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California Sussman Staying Visible Collection, Foothill DeAnza Community College District, Cupertino, California. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York: Untitled abstract, 1931 Crystal Bridges Museum, Arkansas: Divinity Lotus, 1929