Collection of the University of Pittsburgh Art Gallery. Gift of Johanna Zimmerman
1985.01.085
Bikini Blonde
1940 – 1963 (Date created)
Oil on Canvas
12.5 in W
x
16.5 in H
American
Bikini Blonde shows a scantily-clad woman seated in a relaxed position. Her right arm rests on the back of a folding chair, while the other reaches across to a side table. Beside her left arm is a large, dark bottle, its amber hue suggesting that it might contain alcohol. The title of the work references the bikini swimsuit pioneered by the once scandalous two-piece swimsuit style. The tricolor flag in the background of the scene might be understood as a reference to the disputed French invention of the style, launched in an explosive marketing campaign inspired by the United States' nuclear testing on Bikini Atoll that began in 1946.[1]
Quastler’s painting draws upon widely-circulating mid-twentieth century imagery of bombshell blondes like Brigitte Bardot and Marilyn Monroe. However, the figure's seated position and the lack of beachside setting merge such popular culture sources with the older tradition of the artist’s model.[2] Rather than posing on a beach, this figure's nonchalant posture and shifted hips appear comfortable and relaxed, and she appears to look downward to appraise her viewer. Despite her revealing outfit, there is no indication that this woman is seeking to inspire sexual arousal.
Quastler uses green and brown to haphazardly define the woman’s voluptuous shape, painting her flesh in warm tones of white, pink, and yellow. Touches of blue suggest her eyes and elsewhere indicate shadows on her body. Red is used sparingly to highlight the woman’s lips and blonde hair. Her hairstyle mimics the bouffant of the 1950s and flipped bob of the 1960s, a style appropriated in Daniel Teoli Jr.’s Jennifur, Los Angeles, California (1974), a photograph of a drag performer held in the UAG collection.[3]
Gertrude Quastler (1909-1963) was born in Vienna, Austria and worked as a milliner before shifting her focus to fine art. Quastler was diagnosed with tuberculosis in her twenties, and after being treated by Dr. Henry Quastler, the two married. Quastler’s health deteriorated over the years and when she died in 1963, her husband subsequently committed suicide.[4] According to the limited cataloguing information on this work, Bikini Blonde was created sometime between 1940 and 1963 and was acquired in 1985 as a gift from Dr. Henry Quastler’s half-sister Johanna Zimmerman. Given the bikini subject matter, it seems unlikely that the work dates from before 1946.
Quastler’s drawings and woodblock prints have been described by journalist Mary Thomas as “emotive, […] simple, almost child-like.”[5] Art historian Mary Schmidt characterizes Quastler’s work as fun and carefree despite the artist’s struggle with tuberculosis. It is poignant to consider that this work was created well into her battle with the illness. Unmarred by the darkness of some of her later work, Bikini Blonde is characterized by an optimism that suggests the jubilation of the immediate postwar years.[6] The woman’s perfectly coiffed blonde hair, red lips, and curvaceous body stand out against the blurry surroundings. She possesses markers of femininity, but her relaxed position does not imply the presence of a male painter’s hand or the suggestion of a male viewer, shifting the power dynamics so typical in the relationship between artist and model.[7]
[1] Donald, Graeme. “Bikini: Two-Piece Swimming Suit.” Sticklers, Sideburns and Bikinis: The Military Origins of Everyday Words and Phrases, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013, pp. 36-37.
[2] Waller, Susan. The Invention of the Model: “Artists and Models in Pairs, 1830-1870.” Routledge, 2017.
[3] Forman-Brunell, Miriam. Girlhood in America A-I. ABC-CLIO, 2001, pp. 355. See also Lowery, Allison. Historical Wig Styling: Ancient Egypt to the 1830s: (The Focal Press Costume Topics Series). Taylor & Francis, 2013, pp. 258.
[4] Baumann, Daniel. “Tonight! Gertrude Quastler (1909-1963): Some Forgotten Drawings.” 2013 Carnegie International, 19 Sept. 2013.
[5] Thomas, Mary. "International Inspires Other Exhibits and Activities at Venues Across Town." Pittsburgh Post - Gazette, 2013.
[6] Quastler, Gertrude, and Westmoreland County Museum of Art. Gertrude Quastler, 1909-1963: [Exhibition], 6 March-1983-April 2, the Westmoreland County Museum of Art, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. The Museum, Greensburg, Pennsylvania, 1983.
[7] Waller, Susan. The Invention of the Model: “Artists and Models in Pairs, 1830-1870.” Routledge, 2017.
Author: Abigail Brady - Spring 2018
Quastler’s painting draws upon widely-circulating mid-twentieth century imagery of bombshell blondes like Brigitte Bardot and Marilyn Monroe. However, the figure's seated position and the lack of beachside setting merge such popular culture sources with the older tradition of the artist’s model.[2] Rather than posing on a beach, this figure's nonchalant posture and shifted hips appear comfortable and relaxed, and she appears to look downward to appraise her viewer. Despite her revealing outfit, there is no indication that this woman is seeking to inspire sexual arousal.
Quastler uses green and brown to haphazardly define the woman’s voluptuous shape, painting her flesh in warm tones of white, pink, and yellow. Touches of blue suggest her eyes and elsewhere indicate shadows on her body. Red is used sparingly to highlight the woman’s lips and blonde hair. Her hairstyle mimics the bouffant of the 1950s and flipped bob of the 1960s, a style appropriated in Daniel Teoli Jr.’s Jennifur, Los Angeles, California (1974), a photograph of a drag performer held in the UAG collection.[3]
Gertrude Quastler (1909-1963) was born in Vienna, Austria and worked as a milliner before shifting her focus to fine art. Quastler was diagnosed with tuberculosis in her twenties, and after being treated by Dr. Henry Quastler, the two married. Quastler’s health deteriorated over the years and when she died in 1963, her husband subsequently committed suicide.[4] According to the limited cataloguing information on this work, Bikini Blonde was created sometime between 1940 and 1963 and was acquired in 1985 as a gift from Dr. Henry Quastler’s half-sister Johanna Zimmerman. Given the bikini subject matter, it seems unlikely that the work dates from before 1946.
Quastler’s drawings and woodblock prints have been described by journalist Mary Thomas as “emotive, […] simple, almost child-like.”[5] Art historian Mary Schmidt characterizes Quastler’s work as fun and carefree despite the artist’s struggle with tuberculosis. It is poignant to consider that this work was created well into her battle with the illness. Unmarred by the darkness of some of her later work, Bikini Blonde is characterized by an optimism that suggests the jubilation of the immediate postwar years.[6] The woman’s perfectly coiffed blonde hair, red lips, and curvaceous body stand out against the blurry surroundings. She possesses markers of femininity, but her relaxed position does not imply the presence of a male painter’s hand or the suggestion of a male viewer, shifting the power dynamics so typical in the relationship between artist and model.[7]
[1] Donald, Graeme. “Bikini: Two-Piece Swimming Suit.” Sticklers, Sideburns and Bikinis: The Military Origins of Everyday Words and Phrases, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013, pp. 36-37.
[2] Waller, Susan. The Invention of the Model: “Artists and Models in Pairs, 1830-1870.” Routledge, 2017.
[3] Forman-Brunell, Miriam. Girlhood in America A-I. ABC-CLIO, 2001, pp. 355. See also Lowery, Allison. Historical Wig Styling: Ancient Egypt to the 1830s: (The Focal Press Costume Topics Series). Taylor & Francis, 2013, pp. 258.
[4] Baumann, Daniel. “Tonight! Gertrude Quastler (1909-1963): Some Forgotten Drawings.” 2013 Carnegie International, 19 Sept. 2013.
[5] Thomas, Mary. "International Inspires Other Exhibits and Activities at Venues Across Town." Pittsburgh Post - Gazette, 2013.
[6] Quastler, Gertrude, and Westmoreland County Museum of Art. Gertrude Quastler, 1909-1963: [Exhibition], 6 March-1983-April 2, the Westmoreland County Museum of Art, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. The Museum, Greensburg, Pennsylvania, 1983.
[7] Waller, Susan. The Invention of the Model: “Artists and Models in Pairs, 1830-1870.” Routledge, 2017.
Author: Abigail Brady - Spring 2018
In Collection
Johanna Zimmerman, gift, 1985
This is not Ideal: Gender Myths and their Transformation. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh University Art Gallery. 2018. Exhibition catalogue. Published on the occasion of the student-curated exhibition This is not Ideal: Gender Myths and Their Transformation at the University Art Gallery, University of Pittsburgh, October 26-December 7, 2018. University Art Gallery. Frick Fine Arts Building, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA 15260 ISBN: 978-1-7329013-0-8
Please note that cataloging is ongoing and that some information may not be complete.