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Elanor Colburn
(1866-1939)


Born in February 1866 (some sources indicate 1863) in Dayton, Ohio, Eleanor Gump moved with her family to Illinois, Chicago in the early 1870s. At an early age Eleanor decided on a career in art, and over the ensuing years, she studied with Frank Duveneck, William M. Chase, and at the Art Institute of Chicago.

While in Chicago, she studied and worked under many names, first as Eleanor Eaton after her May 16, 1891 marriage to Harry Charles Eaton, then as Eleanor Gump, 1895-1896, and finally as Eleanor Colburn, 1900-1939. During this time, she also works as an assistant teacher at the Art Institute of Chicago. Eleanor remained active in Chicago until the late 1910s, living for a time in New Hampshire before settling permanently in Laguna Beach, California in 1924. In 1927, Eleanor dropped the internal "e" from her first name, signing her paintings "Elanor Colburn" thereafter.

Working in a style that evolved from a type of impressionism to dynamic symmetry (a style characterized by muted tones and the use of geometric forms in an abstract approach), Elanor's earliest paintings were commissioned portraits and landscapes. After moving to California and a hiatus in her art career for several due to illness, she began again in earnest in 1927. Specializing in figure studies, she produced many paintings with Western themes, particularly of American Indian women and children.

Elanor Colburn passed away on May 7, 1939 in Laguna Beach, California.

Works held: Laguna Art Museum; Art Institute of Chicago

Source:
Hughes, Edan M. Artists In California 1786-1940. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Sacramento: Crocker, Art Museum, 2002. N. pag. 2 vols. Print.
St. Gaudens, Maurine. Emerging from the Shadows: A Survey of Women Artists Working in California, 1860-1960. Vol. 1. 2015. Print.