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Ita Aber

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Ita Aber
Born
Ita Herschcovich

1932 (age 91–92)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
EducationEmpire State College
Known forTextiles, conservation, curatorial

Ita Aber (née Herschcovich; born 1932) is an American feminist multimedia textile artist, art conservator and curator.

Early life and career

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Ita Aber was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada as Ita Herschcovich to Fannie (née Zabitsky) and Tudick Hershcovich. Her grandparents were of German, Polish, Russian, and Romanian Bukhara ancestry.[1]

Her first exposure to feminism was by her grandmother, an early suffragette in Canada, and her mother, who founded the Milk Fund of Canada.[2] She took courses in Jewish history, archaeology, art and textile conservation at Queen's College, Columbia University, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and New York University.[3][4] She completed a bachelor's degree in Cultural Studies from Empire State College[3] and carried out graduate-level studies at The Valentine Museum (Richmond, Virginia),[4] and the Metropolitan Museum of Art,[3] earning a master's degree equivalent in Jewish Art.[2]

In 1964, Aber became politically active, specifically in the Reform Democratic movement.[2] Through her early political involvement, she sought to abolish laws in New York restricting abortion.[2] She helped found Women Strike for Peace, and also became active in the environmental movement, speaking out against the pollution in the Hudson River.[2] At this time, she also became active in equal rights activism, minority and elder rights.[2]

Aber was a founding member of the New York Feminist Art Institute and the founder of the Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework.[2] Starting in 1972, she taught needlework at the Jewish Museum, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum and other venues throughout the eastern United States.[2]

Aber's artistic-related archives are held at the Archives of American Art,[2][5] with other archival collections being held by the National Museum of Women in the Arts.[2] Her family's papers are held at Yeshiva University.[6]

Exhibitions

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  • 2001: "55 Year Retrospective Exhibition", Broome Street Gallery[7][8]
  • 2007: "Ita B'Ita: Ita Aber in Her Time: 60 Years of Creativity and Innovation by Ita Aber", Yeshiva University Museum[9][10]

Bibliography

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  • The art of Judaic needlework: traditional and contemporary designs, Scribner, 1979, ISBN 978-0-684-16239-3;
  • Art of Judaic Needlepoint, Simon & Schuster, 1982, ISBN 978-0-684-17684-0
  • Ita H. Aber, Frann S. Addison, Katya Apekina, Beverly Auerbach, Tradition today: modern Judaica and folk art, Jewish Arts Foundation, 1990

References

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  1. ^ Ita Aber biography, iupui.libguides.com. Accessed September 27, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barbara J. Love (2006). Feminists who changed America, 1963–1975. University of Illinois Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-252-03189-2. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c McBee, Richard (November 8, 2011). "Ita Aber: A Jewish Woman's Life in Art". Jewish Art Salon.org. New York, NY: Jewish Art Salon. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Heller, Jules; Heller, Nancy G. (1995). North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary. New York, NY: Routledge. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-1356-3882-5 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Archives of American Art. "Summary of the Ita H. Aber papers, 1950–2007 – Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution". si.edu.
  6. ^ Guide to the Aber Family Papers 1900–1992 Archived January 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, libfindaids.yu.edu. Accessed September 27, 2022.
  7. ^ "American Guild of Judaic Art". jewishart.org. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  8. ^ McBee, Richard (January 21, 2001). "Ita Aber: 55 Year Retrospective Exhibition". The Jewish Press (review). Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved July 11, 2011 – via author's website. richardmcbee.com.
  9. ^ "Ita B'Ita: Ita Aber in Her Time 60 Years of Creativity and Innovation by Ita Aber". June 24–October 14, 2007. Yeshiva University Museum. yumuseum.org. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  10. ^ Bauer, Linda (August 17, 2007). "'60 Years of Creativity by Ita Aber' at Yeshiva University Museum". The Newtown Bee (Newtown, Connecticut). Retrieved January 31, 2018.
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