Imogene Gieling
Imogene Gieling | |
|---|---|
| Born | Imogene Bailey Frey 1923 Corsicana, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | December 22, 2024 (aged 100–101) |
| Other names | Imogene Bailey Tex Bailey Tex Gieling |
| Education | Texas Woman's University, University of Washington |
| Occupations | Metalsmith, jewelry designer, educator. |
| Spouse | John Gieling (m. 1954) |
Imogene Bailey "Tex" Gieling (née Imogene Bailey Frey; 1923 – December 22, 2024) was an American metalsmith, jewelry designer, and educator. She was a founding member of the Metal Arts Guild of San Francisco; and was a professor emeritus at San Francisco State University.
Early life and education
Imogene Gieling was born as Imogene Bailey Frey in 1923, in Corsicana, Texas.[1] Her father encouraged her appreciation of art in her childhood.[2]
Gieling graduated from Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas, and with a Master's degree from the University of Washington in Seattle.[2][3] Additionally she studied in the 1950s metal arts under Victor Reis (1907–2006) in the San Francisco Bay Area.[2][4]
Career and late life
The nickname Tex was given to her in 1947, when she worked at The Bon Marché department store in Seattle as student.[1] Gieling started exhibiting her work internationally in 1954.[5] In the summer of 1954, she married John Gieling.[6]
Gieling taught in the decorative arts department at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) from 1955 until 1962; followed by teaching and founding of the metals department at the San Francisco State University (SFSU) from 1965 until 1990.[1] She was a professor emeritus at SFSU.
From 1967 until 2024, Gieling and her husband John owned the house at 22 Beaver Street in the Duboce Triangle neighborhood of San Francisco, now known as the Benedict–Gieling House (built c. 1879) and listed as a San Francisco Historical Landmark since 2018.[7][8]
Gieling was awarded the Society of North American Goldsmiths' Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.[2] Gieling had a retrospective exhibition in 2018 to 2019, Tex Gieling: Sixty Years, held at the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco.[9]
She died on December 22, 2024.[2]
Exhibitions
Solo exhibitions
- 1961, Imogene Bailey Gieling: Silver, Its Appearance and Disappearance – Design Traditions and Innovations in Contemporary Silver, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA), San Francisco, California[10]
- 2018–2019, Tex Gieling: Sixty Years, Museum of Craft and Design, San Francisco, California[9]
Group exhibitions
- 5th Annual Exhibition of Watercolors, Prints, and Decorative Arts (1956), Richmond Art Center, Richmond, California; juried group exhibition[11]
- 17 Craftsmen (1965), Museum West of the American Craftsmen's Council, Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, California; group exhibition featuring artists: Imogene "Tex" Gieling, Janice Bornt, Lillian Elliott, Katherine Westphal, Dominic Di Mare, and Gary Oberbillig[12]
- Metal Arts (1974), Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, California; group exhibition featuring artists: Robert R. Coleman, Florence Fullmer Dixon, Imogene "Tex" Gieling, Tyler James Hoare, C. Carl Jennings, Harriet Johns, Priscilla Kapel, Sandra Lesnewsky, Esther Lewittes, Arthur Lutz, Zella Eckels Marggraf, Richard A. Mayer, George D. McLean, Louis Mueller, E. J. Montgomery, John Nugent, Dalene M. Osterkamp, George Postgate, Merry Renk, Florence Resnikoff, Phyllis H. Smith, Eve Paige Spencer, Naomi Stahl, Martin K. Weber, Anne Wienholt, and Byron August Wilson[13][14][15]
References
- 1 2 3 Lauria, Jo (April 28, 2012). "Oral history interview with Imogene "Tex" Gieling, 2008 November 21 and 2012 April 28". Archives of American Art (interview). Smithsonian Institution.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Shypertt, Elizabeth (February 20, 2025). "In Remembrance: Imogene "Tex" Gieling". SNAG (Society of North American Goldsmiths). Retrieved May 16, 2026.
- ↑ "Imogene Gieling - Artist Info". AskArt.com.
- ↑ "Golden age". J. October 11, 2007. Retrieved May 16, 2026.
- ↑ "Public Preview To Open 'Yule Bowl' Exhibition". The Sunday Oregonian. November 5, 1967. p. 106. Retrieved May 15, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Marriage". San Francisco Chronicle. June 4, 1954. p. 26. Retrieved May 16, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "A look inside a 101-year-old metal artist's final masterpiece". SFStandard.com. October 23, 2025. Retrieved May 16, 2026.
- ↑ "San Francisco Landmarks: Benedict-Gieling House". NoeHill.com.
- 1 2 "MakeArt Family Day". San Francisco Examiner. January 31, 2019. pp. A2. Retrieved May 15, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "San Francisco Museum of Art". San Francisco Chronicle. October 22, 1961. p. 138. Retrieved May 16, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Names of Winners In Art Show Announced". The Independent (Richmond, California). April 5, 1956. p. 36. Retrieved May 16, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "17 Craftsmen Show Works At Museum". San Francisco Examiner. March 20, 1965. p. 20. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
- ↑ "Metal Arts". The Press Democrat. January 25, 1974. p. 11. Retrieved January 15, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Metal Craftsmen". Berkeley Gazette. January 22, 1974. p. 11. Retrieved May 15, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "County metal artists will exhibit works in Berkeley". The Press Democrat. January 23, 1974. p. 15. Retrieved January 15, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
- Oral history interview with Imogene "Tex" Gieling, 2008 November 21 and 2012 April 28, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
- 1923 births
- 2024 deaths
- 20th-century American educators
- 21st-century American educators
- American jewelry designers
- American metalsmiths
- Artists from San Francisco
- People from Corsicana, Texas
- San Francisco State University faculty
- Texas Woman's University alumni
- University of California, Berkeley faculty
- University of Washington alumni