Janet Lippincott (1918-2007)

Janet Lippincott lived and worked in New Mexico, and was a key figure in the development of abstract painting in the region. She had a privileged upbringing, which entailed early training in the arts in Paris and New York. She went on to attend the Art Students League in New York after graduating from high school.

Lippincott enlisted during World War II and afterwards attended the Taos School of Art under the GI Bill, studying under Emil Bisttram. Bisttram told Lippincott that she was 'wasting her time'; however, her later success caused him to revise his opinion.

In the early 1950's Lippincott received fellowships to study at California School of Fine Arts and the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. In 1956 she moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Despite an initial lack of recognition from critics, she built a long and successful career in Santa Fe. Towards the end of her life, she was honored with the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and the Arts Achievement Award from the National Museum of Women in the Arts.