Don Gummer
Gummer in 2011
Born (1946-12-12) December 12, 1946
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
EducationHerron School of Art and Design
Yale School of Art
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1978; sep. 2017)​
Children
RelativesMark Ronson (son-in-law)

Don Gummer (born December 12, 1946)[1] is an American sculptor. His early work concentrated on table-top and wall-mounted sculpture. In the mid-1980s, he shifted his focus to large free-standing works, often in bronze. In the 1990s, he added a variety of other materials, such as stainless steel, aluminum and stained glass. His interest in large outdoor works also led him to an interest in public art. He was the husband of actress Meryl Streep.

Style

Critic Irving Sandler (writing in Art in America, January 2005) has noted that Gummer's work is recognizably rooted in constructivism, but also writes that "in extending and deflecting Constructivist art in a new direction, Gummer has rendered it peculiarly contemporary." Sandler also writes that Gummer's works "give postmodern life to classic principles of abstract composition."[2]

Early life and education

Gummer was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on December 12, 1946, and grew up in Indiana. He is the son of Dorothy Ann (née Jacobson) and William Adolph Gummer, and has five brothers: William, Jack, Richard, Steven, and Mark.

He studied at Ben Davis High School, Indianapolis, and then at the Herron School of Art[3] from 1964 to 1966. From 1966 to 1970, he studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, and then completed his studies at the Yale School of Art where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and Master of Fine Arts (MFA), and studied with David von Schlegell.[4]

Career

Gummer's first solo show was in 1973. Since then, his works have been featured at two dozen solo shows at museums and galleries around the East Coast and Midwest. His work has also been exhibited in group shows.[5]

Gummer's commissioned works have included Primary Compass (2000), a site-specific outdoor permanent sculpture at the Butler Institute of American Art,[6] Youngstown, Ohio, and a sculpture/fountain in Historic New Harmony, New Harmony, Indiana.[7] The Optimist” by Don Gummer was placed at the entrance of the Preston Arts Center, formerly the Henderson Fine Arts Center, on September 30, 2001, in Henderson, Kentucky. The sculpture made of cast stainless steel with a bronze base measures 7 ft. high, 4 ft. deep and 5 ft. in width and is mounted on a six-ton Indiana limestone base. “Fear and hate are no match for love and optimism” . . . Don Gummer . . . from speech at dedication and unveiling ceremony. One stainless steel and stained glass sculpture, Southern Circle, standing 25 feet (7.6 m) tall and weighing approximately 20,000 pounds, was commissioned by the city of Indianapolis and dedicated in October, 2004. "Primary Separation", a permanent installation at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, was completed in 2006.[7]

Personal life

Gummer married Peggy Jenel Lucas in the early seventies but divorced shortly after.[8]

He married actress Meryl Streep on September 30, 1978.[9] They have four children: musician Henry Wolfe, and actresses Mamie, Grace, and Louisa.[10] It was reported in October 2023 that Gummer and Streep had been separated for more than six years. They were last seen together in 2018.[11]

Gummer and Streep are active philanthropists who donate to a range of arts organizations and educational institutions, including Vassar College, Opus School in Harlem, and the Silver Mountain Arts Foundation.

Public collections

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Don Gummer 2018 Bio squarespace.com
  2. ↑ Deconstructive constructivist: over more than 30 years, Don Gummer has moved from architecturally influenced installations to intricate, large-scale sculptures that give postmodern life to classic principles of abstract composition | Art in America |...
  3. ↑ "Cultural Trail to get infusion of art". The Indianapolis Star.
  4. ↑ Smith, Roberta (October 6, 1992). "David von Schlegell, Abstract Artist, Is Dead at 72". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Don Gummer - Artists - Austin Art Projects". www.austinartprojects.com. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Butler Institute of American Art scores coup with a Pierre Soulages at Trumbull Branch". November 14, 2010.
  7. 1 2 Christopher Kuo. "Philadelphia asks if race of Tubman sculptor matters". Artdaily. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Don Gummer". www.augustastylianougallery.com. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Don Gummer". IMDb.
  10. ↑ "Mamma Mia". The New Yorker. August 16, 2009.
  11. ↑ Saunders, Angel (October 21, 2023). "Meryl Streep and Husband Don Gummer Have Been Separated for 6 Years". People. Archived from the original on October 21, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2023.

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