Ida Kohlmeyer (American, 1912-1997)

Available Works

Biography

Ida Kohlmeyer (1912–1997) was a leading contemporary artist from Louisiana and the American South, best known for her Abstract Expressionist paintings featuring colorful glyphs arranged in grids. Born in New Orleans to Polish immigrants Joseph and Rebecca Rittenberg, she graduated from Newcomb College in 1933 with a degree in English and later married Hugh Kohlmeyer. She began studying art as an adult, taking classes at the John McCrady Art School in 1947 before pursuing an MFA at Newcomb College from 1950–1956.

After earning her MFA, Kohlmeyer’s transition to abstraction was shaped by her exposure to Clyfford Still, Hans Hofmann, Joan Miró, and Mark Rothko. She taught at Newcomb College from 1956–1964 and at the University of New Orleans from 1973–1975 while maintaining a home studio. Her work evolved from figurative studies to symbolic abstract compositions, including her “Clusters,” “Synthesis,” and “Mythic” series from the 1970s through the 1990s. Sculpture also became a significant part of her practice beginning in the late 1960s, ranging from painted wood and plexiglass to soft sculptural forms and large fabricated glyphs.

Kohlmeyer exhibited widely throughout her career, with over 200 group and solo exhibitions between 1957 and 1997, including major retrospectives at the High Museum of Art in 1972 and the Mint Museum in 1983. Her work is held in more than 40 public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and SFMOMA. She lived and worked in New Orleans throughout her life and passed away on January 29, 1997.