Mina Gertrude Löwy

Place: Hampstead

Born: 1882

Death: 1966

Biography:

Mina Gertrude Löwy, also known as Mina Lowry, was a British-born artist, writer, poet, playwright, novelist, painter, designer of lamps, and bohemian. Born on 27 December 1882, in Hampstead, London, she was one of the last of the first-generation modernists to achieve posthumous recognition.

Early Life and Education

Loy's formal art education began late in 1897 at St. John's Wood School, where she remained for about two years. Her father, Sigmund Felix Lowy, a Hungarian Jewish tailor, pushed for her to go to the art school in the hope that it would make her more marriageable. Loy became fascinated with both Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Christina Rossetti, and after much convincing was able to persuade her father to purchase her Dante's Complete Works and reproductions of his paintings as well as a red Moroccan leather-bound version of Christina's poems.

Studying in Germany and Paris

In 1900, Loy attended the Munich Künstlerinnenverein, or the Society of Female Artists' School, which was connected with the fine art school of Munich University. Upon returning to the stifling environment of her family home in London, after the relative freedom she found in Munich, Loy suffered from "headaches, respiratory problems, and generalized weakness" which was then diagnosed as neurasthenia.

Artistic Career

Loy's poetry was admired by T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, Basil Bunting, Gertrude Stein, Francis Picabia, and Yvor Winters, among others. Her work can be found in various museums, including the Tate Modern in London. For more information on her artwork, visit Mina Gertrude Löwy: Peddler Doll at Wikioo.org. Some of her notable works include:

• Peddler Doll, a watercolor painting
• Anglo-Mongrels and the Rose, a mock-epic poem
• Her designs for lamps, which showcase her unique style and artistic vision

For more information on Mina Loy's life and work, visit her page on Wikipedia. You can also explore her artwork at Wikioo.org.

Legacy

Mina Gertrude Löwy was a true original, and her work continues to inspire artists and writers today. Her courage and wit to be original have made her a major figure in modernism. As stated by Nicholas Fox Weber in the New York Times, "This brave soul had the courage and wit to be original. Mina Loy may never be more than a vaguely familiar name, a passing satellite, but at least she sparkled from an orbit of her own choosing."