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Lisl Hummel

Lisl Hummel Borsook
Grainy black-and-white photograph of young woman with light skin and dark hair
Lisl Hummel circa 1925, published in The Toronto Star
Born
Lisl Hummel

(1892-05-19)May 19, 1892
Vienna, Austria
DiedMay 30, 1990(1990-05-30) (aged 98)
Santa Barbara, California
CitizenshipUnited States
SpouseHenry Borsook
ChildrenEve Borsook

Lisl Hummel Borsook (19 May 1892 – 30 May 1990) was an Austrian-born artist that spent the majority of her life in the United States. She was known for her silhouette papercuts, which were mainly created as illustrations for children's books and fairy tales.

Early life and education

Hummel was born on 19 May 1892 in Vienna, Austria to parents Rosa Schweitzer and Sigmund Hummel.[1][2] Her sisters were Martha (later, Martha Ullmen) and Emmy (later, Emmy Simon).[3][4] Educated in Vienna, Hummel graduated at 18-years-old from the Lyceum there before going to study art in Munich. Her professor was the first to suggest she begin papercutting in her art, due to the clear outlines in her drawings.[5]

Career and life

Hummel worked mainly with silhouette papercuts, which she used to illustrate children's books and fairy tales.[6] For her work, she used a pencil, scissors, and black paper that was white on the back. She would sketch her drawing on the white side of the paper before cutting, and her finished pieces tended to be around 3 to 5 inches across.[5][7] Many of her papercuts included children, fairies, or animals.[8][9]

One of Hummel's first exhibits was held in 1911 in Switzerland, where she lived and worked for a period of time. She lived in Zurich in the 1920s. Around this time, her work was covered by a prominent art magazine in Switzerland.[7][10] Hummel also became recognized as an artist in England.[7] She spent three months in London working on illustrations for the book The Heart of London, written by H. V. Morton.[5][11]

In 1924, Hummel and her sister spent around a year in Toronto, Canada. Her work began to be recognized in North America, and her artwork was used for magazine covers and by various book publishers. She mainly illustrated fairy tales, but also made art for insurance company booklets and wrote poetry. Her artwork was loaned by her sister to the Hart House at the University of Toronto, where it was exhibited in 1925.[12]

Hummel moved to Toronto, Canada in the fall of 1928, first living with her sister. During this time, she was engaged to Henry Borsook, a playwright and medical researcher at the University of Toronto. While planning for their wedding, she simultaneously worked on illustrations for a book soon-to-be-published in the United States, titled Poems about Peter, written by Lysbeth Boyse Borie.[5][13][14]

Hummel and Borsook married. They had a daughter, Eve, in 1929. The year after, they moved to Pasadena, California, when Henry obtained a professorship at the California Institute of Technology.[15][8][9] By 1930, Hummel's artwork had been printed in various magazines and newspapers, including Country Life, London Mercury, London Evening Standard, and Studio Magazine.[16] She officially gained United States citizenship in 1937.[17]

In the 1930, 1940, and 1950 U.S. censuses, Hummel was listed as either being a homemaker or not having an occupation.[18][19][20] In 1945, her work was exhibited in the Member's Room at the Pasadena Art Institute.[21] Later in her life, The Berkley Gazette stated she was known as an artist before her marriage.[22]

Hummel died on 30 May 1990 in Santa Barbara, California.[23]

  • Silhouette of a young boy looking down as he holds a wilting flower
    "Weeds and Flowers" papercut (c. 1926)
  • Silhouette of a kitchen scene where an old woman points at a cat another woman holds
    Papercut from Sally in Her Fur Coat (1929)
  • Silhouette of two cats walking across a landscape of trees
    Papercut from Sally in Her Fur Coat (1929)

Works

References

  1. ^ "U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007". Provo, UT, USA. 2015 – via Ancestry.com.
  2. ^ Biography Almanac. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research. 1983. p. 635. ISBN 978-0-8103-1632-4. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  3. ^ "Car Victim Wife of CIT Scientist". Pasadena Independent. 23 March 1949. p. 5. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  4. ^ "Simon, Emmy Hummel". The Toronto Star. 5 December 1970. p. 86. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d "Pictured London Scenes with Pair of Scissors". The Toronto Star. 22 June 1929. p. 20. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  6. ^ Almanac of Famous People: A comprehensive reference guide to more than 25,000 famous and infamous newsmakers from Biblical times to the present. Gale Research Co. 1989. p. 972. ISBN 978-0-8103-2784-9. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  7. ^ a b c "Black and White". Ontario Library Review. 13 (3). Provincial Library Service: 99–100. February 1929.
  8. ^ a b "Artist To Make Pasadena 'Home'". The Pasadena Post. 4 April 1930. p. 3. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Scissor-Cut Artist is Mistress of Art". The Toronto Star. 4 April 1930. p. 23. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  10. ^ "Historical Art Being Revived in Silhouettes". The Vancouver Sun. 23 October 1922. p. 6. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  11. ^ "Men, Women & Books". Bucks Examiner. 11 March 1927. p. 3. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  12. ^ "Silhouets Exhibit is Refreshing Event". The Toronto Star. 7 February 1925. p. 6. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  13. ^ "Viennese Artist Lives in Torontro". The Calgary Albertan. 25 October 1928. p. 7. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  14. ^ "Illustrator Has No Time To Plan Her Own Wedding". The Edmonton Bulletin. 29 October 1928. p. 8. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  15. ^ "Borsook, Eve". Dictionary of Art Historians. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  16. ^ "Artist Works with Scissors". The Los Angeles Times. 4 April 1930. p. 22. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  17. ^ "Naturalization Index Cards of the U.S. District Court For the Southern District of California, Central Division (Los Angeles), 1915-1976 (M1525)". Washington, DC: The National Archives in Washington, DC. Microfilm Serial: M1525; Microfilm Roll: 30 – via Ancestry.com.
  18. ^ "1930 United States Federal Census". Retrieved 2 March 2025 – via Ancestry.com.
  19. ^ "1940 United States Federal Census". Retrieved 2 March 2025 – via Ancestry.com.
  20. ^ "1950 United States Federal Census". Retrieved 2 March 2025 – via Ancestry.com.
  21. ^ "Some Scissor Cuts, Drawings and Brocades". Metropolitan Pasadena Star-News. 23 September 1945. p. 17. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  22. ^ "Italy knights ex-Berkeleyan". The Berkeley Gazette. 3 March 1975. p. 4. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  23. ^ "California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997". Provo, UT, USA. Retrieved 2 March 2025 – via Ancestry.com.
  24. ^ a b c d Mahony, Bertha E. (1947). Illustrators of Children's Books, 1744-1945. Boston: Horn Book. ISBN 978-0-87675-015-5. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  25. ^ "Fancies Without Facts". The Observer. 8 January 1928. p. 8. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  26. ^ Eaton, Anne T. (25 January 1931). "Books for Children". New York Times. p. BR9. Retrieved 2 March 2025 – via ProQuest.
  27. ^ Eaton, Anne T. (27 March 1932). "The New Books for Children: When Abigail was Seven". New York Times. p. BR25. Retrieved 2 March 2025 – via ProQuest.
Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisl_Hummel