Do You Know Hildreth Meière?

Thanks to my friend Samantha Hoffman for getting my website and blog up and running. Never thought that I’d have my own website!

The impetus for its creation is The Art Deco Murals of Hildreth Meière, a book I’ve co-authored with art historian Catherine Coleman Brawer scheduled for publication by Andrea Monfried Editions in April 2014.  

Hildreth Meière was a talented and prolific muralist of the first half of the twentieth century who completed approximately 100 commissions for office buildings, churches, government centers, theaters, restaurants, cocktail lounges, world’s fair pavilion, and ocean liners. Despite her extensive body of work and the accessibility of the majority of her designs to the public, her name is not instantly recognizable, even among art and architectural historians.  

Each year, millions of people pass by the circular medallions representing Dance, Drama, and Song that Meière designed for the 50^th Street façade of Radio City Music Hall, yet I’d venture that only a handful could tell you the artist’s name. Hopefully, this book will help to bring her more recognition.

Meière’s colorful dynamic sculpture of Dance, will be on the book’s cover. Graphic designer Yve Ludwig and photographer Hildreth Meière Dunn, Meière’s granddaughter, are currently tweaking the image, but I hope to post it soon.

In future blog posts, I’ll explain how I learned about Meière and came to write this book.