Discipline: Visual Arts

Jerome Blum

Discipline: Visual Arts
MacDowell Fellowships: 1934
Jerome S. Blum (1884-1956) was among one of the first American painters to adopt the styles and techniques of vanguard European painters such as Cézanne, Van Gogh, and Matisse and to adapt them to his own unique vision to create a modern American art. He was especially inspired by their bold use of colors and their new approach to form and composition. The son of immigrants from Germany, Blum grew up in a middle-class, hardworking family. His father did not encourage his artistic predilection, insisting Blum learn a trade that would support him. His mother, however, strongly supported his desire to become an artist. She admired and collected beautiful arts and crafts from around the world, particularly the Orient, objects that seemed to have compelled Blum not only to paint, but also to travel. Other early sources of inspiration for adventure and art came from the South Seas exhibition at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 and a trip to Munich for a family vacation in 1902, during which Blum was allowed to study painting at a small art school. After his initial exposure to art classes, Blum pursued his training with vigor for the next several years. In 1905, he began studies at the John Francis Smith Art Academy where he met Lucille Swan, a sculptor who would become his first wife. When she left school for Paris, Blum enrolled in the Ecole des Beaux Arts where he studied for about a year under Luc Olivier-Merson. Like so many American artists who went to study at the academies in Paris, Blum was dissatisfied with his training and sought inspiration outside the classroom walls. He found more vitality and excitement in the discussions about art and life that unfolded at the numerous cafés. In 1912 he visited the American West, then traveled to Europe, North Africa, China, and Japan. Blum held exhibitions in New York, Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia. By the late 1920s Blum had also begun to write. His short stories and other literary pieces appeared in periodicals such as The New Republic and American Spectator. In 1931 he participated in a group show at the Whitney Museum of American Art. In 1932 he was included in an exhibition at the Galerie de la Renaissance in Paris and in 1933 and 1935 he was represented by paintings at the Delphic Studios in Manhattan. He also participated in the Century of Progress exhibition held in Chicago in 1934 and had a one-person exhibition at Gump’s Gallery in San Francisco in 1936. Sometime between 1935 and 1936 Blum contracted a life-threatening illness that led to mental exhaustion and hospitalization. Once institutionalized, Jerome Blum never painted again, although his works continued to be exhibited.