Nell Blaine: Perseverance in the Face of Adversity

Nell Blaine - Rooftops, Rain - 1967 - Oil on canvas - 20 1/8 x 26 1/8 in. (50.9 x 60.1 cm.) - Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian, Washington D.C. (click photo for larger image)American Artist Nell Blaine (1922-1996) though not as widely recognized as she should be, stands as a microcosm of post-World War II stylistic tendencies, from gestural Abstract Expressionism to the geometries of pure abstraction, and eventually to a lyrical realism that included still lifes, landscapes, and interior views. 

Importantly, she also played a key social role in gathering artists together to create a vibrant community of painters, poets, and musicians. Together, they created a collaborative environment that opened numerous avenues of exploration. She helped to lay the foundation for future generations of landscape and nature artists by demonstrating how that genre could be brought into the second half of the 20th century. 

Blaine's perseverance in the face of adversity is also a key aspect of her legacy. She suffered from polio but refused to let it end her career. She had to adapt to painting with her left hand and limited range of mobility, as she was confined to a wheel chair. She demonstrated to the world that physical limitations do not have to end artistic pursuits.

In the work featured here, Nell Blaine depicts a series of city rooftops in a range of pastel colors and shades of blue. The surface of the roof that dominates the foreground appears to shimmer in the fallen rain. One of Blaine's striking abilities is to turn mundane, even dirty, things into beautifully colored compositions. (Excerpted from TheArtStory)