073 SMITH JOURNAL<<
It is unknown whether these artists became
familiar with Vanderpoel’s work, or if they
simply stumbled on the same styles and
concepts independently. What is known
is that Vanderpoel never received popular
recognition for her contributions, while
plenty of male artists later made their livings
painting in similar styles. German-born
Albers was 13 when Vanderpoel published
her squares. He would begin revealing the
first of his 1,000 Homage to the Square
paintings more than four decades later. In
1963, he published Interaction of Color,
which included ideas Vanderpoel could
have peer-reviewed had she not been dead,
at this point, for more than 20 years.
The scant biographical details on Vanderpoel
suggest she was a fiery character. She was
born to a wealthy New York family in 1842,
and became a student of American landscape
artists Robert Swain Giord and William
Sartain. As a female artist, she was raised to
paint the few subjects deemed appropriate
for her sex: flowers, and other decorative
items. She exhibited nationally, and was
vice-president of the New York Watercolor
Club, a group founded in response to the
refusal by the American Watercolor Society
to accept women members. Vanderpoel’s
society had its own jury-selected exhibitions
with even stricter standards, and ended up
showing a higher quality of work as a result.At 22, she married John Vanderpoel, and
had a son – also named John. Sadly, her
husband died the year their son was born.
At a time when she was expected to be little
more than a mother, Vanderpoel worked
tirelessly, not just as an artist, but also as a
philanthropist and historian. By the time
most people were considering retirement,
she was just getting going. “Vanderpoel had
a creative burst around 1900, while she was
in her 60s,” Cooke says. During this time she
produced several books experimenting with
artistic expression under the guise of the
‘lowly’ decorative arts. “Her son died during
this time,” Cooke adds, “so she persevered
through that personal tragedy. Maybe that
was one of the reasons she was so busy.”Fair to say, she got on with things. As a
writer and an artist she seemed empowered
by her curiosity and her belief that, as she
wrote, “No woman has the right to say she
has no influence, conscious or unconscious,
on the world around her”. It was a belief
that would take her far, whether others
knew it or not. •VANDERPOEL WORKED TIRELESSLY.
BY THE TIME MOST PEOPLE WERE
CONSIDERING RETIREMENT, SHE
WAS JUST GETTING GOING.