Lippincott Janet

Janet Lippincott was born in 1918 to a family of privilege in New York City. Her family lived in Paris during her childhood which was another influence on her art. When Lippincott was 15 years old, her mother enrolled her at the Art Students League in a life drawing class. She graduated from the Todhunter School, a private school in New York where Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt was principal. After high school, Lippincott returned to the Art Students League full time. During World War II, she enlisted in the Women's Army Corps and was attached to General Dwight D. Eisenhower's staff. Lippincott tells a story of General George Patton storming into Eisenhower's office in London demanding to see him. She told Patton flatly that Eisenhower was busy and that he would have to take a seat and wait and that he should keep his mouth shut, too. In 1949, Lippincott drove from New York to Taos, New Mexico to attend the Emil Bisttram School of Art on the G.I. Bill. Bisttram did not appreciate Lippincott's talent and told her that she was wasting her time. She responded that the G.I. Bill was paying him and that she would remain. In 1972, when Lippincott was exhibiting at the Jamison Gallery in Santa Fe, Bisttram gave her a glowing review. Janet Lippincott attended the Colorado Springs Arts Center and the San Francisco Art Institute on fellowships. In 1957, Lippincott settled in Santa Fe. She bought property on Canyon Road and built an adobe house and studio. It took time for Lippincott's art to be accepted by critics in Santa Fe. Lippincott herself explains that, "After The war, I came out here, and NO ONE was doing any modern painting. Here I came with my screwball ideas and shook everybody up." Eventually Lippincott won over the critics in Santa Fe. She has had numerous shows around the country and internationally. She works with a wide range of media. She was one of the first artists to create lithographs at the Tamarind Institute. In 2002, Lippincott was still painting and winning awards. She has also won the New Mexico Governor's Award as Artist of the Year. Janet Lippincott passed away in May of 2007. In a 1980 article in Southwest Art, Janet Lippincott addressed who she was as an artist, "Abstract painting is an intellectual process. To be a modern painter and to make a truthful statement is the sum total of all I am and what I am continually striving to create. I am a painter and my paintings are all I can contribute to this world." Working away from the major art centers, Lippincott had a singular devotion to her art - a quest to find a pure expression based in color and form. New Mexico afforded her a place to work independently without the distractions of the New York art scene.