# Gertrude Abercrombie artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/gertrude-abercrombie/
Profile generated: 2026-05-10T10:13:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1909-02-17
- Death date: 1977-07-03
- Nationality: American
- Movements: Chicago art scene, mid-20th century; associated with surrealist-influenced painting and bohemian creative circles
- Common media: oil painting

## About Gertrude Abercrombie

Gertrude Abercrombie (1909–1977) was an American painter based in Chicago, widely recognized as a central figure in the city's mid-century creative community. Born in Austin, Texas, and active from the 1930s through the 1970s, Abercrombie became known for enigmatic, dreamlike compositions that drew on surrealist traditions while remaining distinctly personal. She was called "the queen of the Bohemian artists" for her central role in Chicago's jazz and art circles, where she counted musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Sarah Vaughan among her close friends. Jazz improvisation deeply influenced her painting practice. Her work is held in major museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1936 she received the Joseph N. Eisendraht Prize. Abercrombie's paintings — often small-scale oils featuring moons, cats, solitary figures, and stark interiors — have gained increasing recognition in the decades since her death.

## Common works and media

Abercrombie worked primarily in oil on canvas and hardboard, often at modest scale. Her most commonly encountered works include dreamlike landscapes with moons and barren trees, interior scenes with cats or solitary female figures, still lifes, and portraits of jazz musicians. She also produced drawings and prints, though paintings dominate her auction record. Collectors may encounter works ranging from major gallery oils to smaller, more personal compositions. Signed works with clear provenance are standard; unsigned or unattributed pieces require expert authentication.

## Market and appraisal context

Abercrombie's work has a well-established secondary-market presence, with over 400 auction lots recorded. Collectors and appraisers should consider several factors when evaluating a painting: authenticity and attribution, medium and support (oil on canvas or panel is typical), provenance and exhibition history, date of execution, condition, and subject matter. Works featuring her signature surrealist imagery — moons, solitary figures, cats, nocturnal landscapes — tend to attract the strongest collector interest. Institutional provenance or exhibition history, particularly ties to MoMA or other major collections, can significantly affect value. As with any mid-century American painter, comparable public auction results and expert attribution review are essential for appraisal.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research grounded in museum records, library authority files, and scholarly sources with auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Gertrude Abercrombie, this page draws on records from the Museum of Modern Art, the Library of Congress, Getty ULAN, VIAF, the RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History), and Wikidata, alongside the Appraisily auction database.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr89014343
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/7776
- RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/103246
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500002434
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/24446828/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q55192
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_Abercrombie