Janet Lippincott (1918-2007)

portrait of janet lippincott

Biography

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.

Schools of Study

Art Students League, NY
Taos Art School, Taos, NM
California School of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, CO

Partial List of Collections

Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MO
New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM
Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM
Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT
Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA

Selected Awards

New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts 2002
Arts Achievement Award, National Museum of Women in the Arts 2003

Selected Exhibitions

Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX (1957, 1962)
New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM 1957
Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO (1958, 1962)
Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris 1962
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX 1962
Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, NM 1963

Selected Works in Our Inventory