Elise Traunstein Grilli (August 4, 1906 – November 13, 1969),[1] born Elsa Traunstein, was an American art critic, professor, columnist, and lecturer based in Japan from 1947 to 1969.
Elise Grilli | |
|---|---|
| Born | Elsa Traunstein August 4, 1906 Austria |
| Died | November 13, 1969 (age 63) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Elsie Traunstein |
| Occupation(s) | Art critic, college professor, columnist, lecturer |
Early life and education
editTraunstein was born in Austria, and raised in the New Jersey, the daughter of Herman Traunstein.[2] She graduated from Barnard College in 1929,[3] and completed a master's degree at Columbia University in 1932. In college she was assistant editor of the Barnard Bulletin, and won an essay contest sponsored by the College Art Association.[4] She also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris.[5]
Career
editGrilli moved to Japan with her family after World War II, when her husband worked with the Allied Occupation Forces in Tokyo.[6][7] She was a professor of art at Sophia University, and wrote art reviews for The Japan Times, an English-language daily newspaper.[8][9] She lectured and organized lectures on art for the International Art Society in Tokyo.[5]
In 1964 Grilli was a visiting lecturer in East Asian art at Earlham College in Indiana,[10] and organized an exhibit of her own collection of Japanese art at the campus.[11] In 1965 and 1966 she made a lecture tour in Europe and the Middle East.[12] She lectured about art in Hawaii in 1966.[13] She also taught at UCLA.[7][13]
John Canaday of The New York Times Book Review called Grilli's The Art of the Japanese Screen "the best art book to have come my way in 1970".[14]
Publications
edit- Kakuzo Okakura, The Book of Tea (1956, foreword and biographical sketch)[15]
- "Saburo Hasegawa as a Leader of Modern Art in Japan" (1957)[16]
- Japanese Picture Scrolls (1959)[17]
- Sharaku (1959)[18]
- "Art Exhibitions in Tokyo" (1959)[19]
- "Gloomy Show by Kodo, Nika" (1959)[20]
- "New Trends in Japanese Painting" (1960)[21]
- Golden Screen Paintings of Japan (1961)[22]
- "Hidai: Ancient Ink in a New Guise" (1965)[23]
- The Art of the Japanese Screen (1970)[24]
Personal life
editTraunstein married Italian-born music critic Marcel F. Grilli. They had two children, Peter[25] and Diana.[26] She died from a liver disease in Los Angeles, in 1969, at the age of 63.[7][27]
References
edit- ^ Birth and death dates from the California Death Index, via Ancestry.
- ^ "Miss Darby, Peter Grilli are Married". The Sunday News. 1967-08-27. p. 74. Retrieved 2024-11-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Barnard College, Mortarboard (1929 yearbook): 141.
- ^ "Elsie Traunstein Wins Fine Arts Prize". Barnard Bulletin. 1929-06-07. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-11-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Dibble, Louise (September 16, 1959). "New Art Club to Have Mrs. Grilli as Lecturer". The Japan Times. p. 4 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Japanese Influence in Art Described in Earlham Talk". Palladium-Item. November 24, 1964. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Transcript of interview with Marcel Grilli, May 25, 1981". Archival Collections, University of Maryland. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Roderick, John (1963-01-03). "Modern American Art Collection Drew Mixed Reactions in Tokyo". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Husband-Wife Duo Review Music, Art". The Japan Times. July 1, 1956. p. 6 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Critic of Japanese Art to Speak at Earlham Tuesday". Palladium-Item. 1964-11-22. p. 22. Retrieved 2024-11-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Japanese Art to be Displayed at McGuire Hall". Palladium-Item. 1964-10-29. p. 22. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Starr, Mary Agnes (November 1, 1964). "Visiting Art Lecturer Thinks Americans Finding New Culture". Palladium-Item. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Mrs. Grilli Art Lecture Tonight". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 1966-03-29. p. 16. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Canaday, John (December 6, 1970). "Eight Opulent Art Books". The New York Times Book Review. p. 4.
- ^ Kakuzo Okakura (1956-01-01). The Book of Tea. Internet Archive. Charles A. Tuttle Company.
- ^ Johnson, Mark Dean; Hart, Dakin, eds. (2019). The Saburo Hasegawa Reader. University of California Press.
- ^ "Japanese Art Work Presented in Two Titles" The Wichita Eagle (March 19, 1959): 43; via Newspapers.com
- ^ Mullaly, Terrence. "The Arts of Japan" The Daily Telegraph (June 26, 1959): 15; via Newspapers.com
- ^ Grilli, Elise. "Art Exhibitions in Tokyo" Japan Quarterly 6(2)(April 1959): 196-.
- ^ Grilli, Elise (September 16, 1959). "Gloomy Show by Kodo, Nika". The Japan Times. p. 4 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Grilli, Elise. "New Trends in Japanese Painting" Japan Quarterly 7(4)(October 1960): 437-.
- ^ "Art: Golden Screen Paintings of Japan". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1961-04-02. p. 102. Retrieved 2024-11-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Grilli, Elise (January 31, 1965). "Hidai: Ancient Ink in a New Guise". The New York Times. p. 365.
- ^ "Books in Brief" Honolulu Star-Bulletin (October 25, 1970): 145; via Newspapers.com
- ^ Mori, Futoshi (2024-04-20). "Peter Grilli, Long-time Friend of Donald Keene Devoted to Cultural Exchange between Japan, U.S., Shares Memories of Keene". Japan News. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
- ^ Wilce, Matt. "Paper Lanterns" American School in Japan.
- ^ "Elise Grilli". The Los Angeles Times. 1969-11-16. p. 49. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.