The Precisionist Vision of Elsie Driggs
Born in Hartford, United States, Elsie Driggs emerged as a significant figure within the Precisionist movement. As the only female participant in this group, she utilized a Cubist-inspired approach to capture the modern American landscape, focusing on the geometric precision of skyscrapers, factories, and bridges. Her early training included studying under George Luks and Maurice Sterne at the Art Students League of New York, and she also attended criticism classes with John Sloan. During her time in Europe, she was influenced by the works of Cézanne and the Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca.
Her most recognized works from this period include Pittsburgh, a depiction of the smokestacks of the Jones & Laughlin steel mills, and Queensborough Bridge, which features shafts of light as rigid lines of force. In 1929, she held a one-woman show at the Daniel Gallery featuring Aeroplane, a work inspired by her experience flying from Cleveland to Detroit. While her Precisionist style focused on the machine age, she also produced botanical studies, such as her 1927 work Cabbage.
Evolution and Later Works
Following the 1929 stock market crash, Driggs's artistic direction shifted. In the 1930s, she moved away from Precisionism to focus on watercolors, figurative paintings, and murals. After marrying the painter Lee Gatch in 1935, her work began to incorporate new techniques, including watercolor and canvas collages inspired by the play of her daughter, Merriman. These adventurous mixed-media constructions and oil paintings continued through her later years in New York City.
In her final decades, Driggs experimented with various media, including pastels and mixed media. Her career was marked by several significant exhibitions, including a retrospective at the New Jersey State Museum. Her legacy as a long-lived and influential artist was recognized through various historical surveys and exhibitions, including a memorial symposium held at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
