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Elise Grilli

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elise Grilli
Born
Elsa Traunstein

August 4, 1906
Austria
DiedNovember 13, 1969 (age 63)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other namesElsie Traunstein
Occupation(s)Art critic, college professor, columnist, lecturer

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.

Early life and education

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Traunstein 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

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Grilli 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

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  • 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

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Traunstein 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

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  1. ^ Birth and death dates from the California Death Index, via Ancestry.
  2. ^ "Miss Darby, Peter Grilli are Married". The Sunday News. 1967-08-27. p. 74. Retrieved 2024-11-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Barnard College, Mortarboard (1929 yearbook): 141.
  4. ^ "Elsie Traunstein Wins Fine Arts Prize". Barnard Bulletin. 1929-06-07. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-11-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b Dibble, Louise (September 16, 1959). "New Art Club to Have Mrs. Grilli as Lecturer". The Japan Times. p. 4 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ "Japanese Influence in Art Described in Earlham Talk". Palladium-Item. November 24, 1964. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b c "Transcript of interview with Marcel Grilli, May 25, 1981". Archival Collections, University of Maryland. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "Husband-Wife Duo Review Music, Art". The Japan Times. July 1, 1956. p. 6 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ^ "Critic of Japanese Art to Speak at Earlham Tuesday". Palladium-Item. 1964-11-22. p. 22. Retrieved 2024-11-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Japanese Art to be Displayed at McGuire Hall". Palladium-Item. 1964-10-29. p. 22. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Starr, Mary Agnes (November 1, 1964). "Visiting Art Lecturer Thinks Americans Finding New Culture". Palladium-Item. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ a b "Mrs. Grilli Art Lecture Tonight". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 1966-03-29. p. 16. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Canaday, John (December 6, 1970). "Eight Opulent Art Books". The New York Times Book Review. p. 4.
  15. ^ Kakuzo Okakura (1956-01-01). The Book of Tea. Internet Archive. Charles A. Tuttle Company.
  16. ^ Johnson, Mark Dean; Hart, Dakin, eds. (2019). The Saburo Hasegawa Reader. University of California Press.
  17. ^ "Japanese Art Work Presented in Two Titles" The Wichita Eagle (March 19, 1959): 43; via Newspapers.com
  18. ^ Mullaly, Terrence. "The Arts of Japan" The Daily Telegraph (June 26, 1959): 15; via Newspapers.com
  19. ^ Grilli, Elise. "Art Exhibitions in Tokyo" Japan Quarterly 6(2)(April 1959): 196-.
  20. ^ Grilli, Elise (September 16, 1959). "Gloomy Show by Kodo, Nika". The Japan Times. p. 4 – via Internet Archive.
  21. ^ Grilli, Elise. "New Trends in Japanese Painting" Japan Quarterly 7(4)(October 1960): 437-.
  22. ^ "Art: Golden Screen Paintings of Japan". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1961-04-02. p. 102. Retrieved 2024-11-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Grilli, Elise (January 31, 1965). "Hidai: Ancient Ink in a New Guise". The New York Times. p. 365.
  24. ^ "Books in Brief" Honolulu Star-Bulletin (October 25, 1970): 145; via Newspapers.com
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ Wilce, Matt. "Paper Lanterns" American School in Japan.
  27. ^ "Elise Grilli". The Los Angeles Times. 1969-11-16. p. 49. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.