Artists

Gertrude Partington Albright

American, 1874–1959

Gertrude Partington Albright was born in Heysham, England on September 11, 1874.At the age of six she came to America with her parents.Her artistic career began with studies under her father J. H. E. Partington who was well known in San Francisco as a portraitist. At the turn of the century she was an illustrator for the San Francisco Examiner doing society and court room sketches. She then went to Paris for further study at the Academie Delecluse and with G. X. Prinet.In Paris she exhibited at the Salon and learned to make dry point etchings.After her European studies, she returned to San Francisco and established a studio at 220 Post Street where she produced etchings, portraits, and oils of sand dunes, the Golden Gate, and scenes of the San Francisco Bay area.

Gertrude was a cofounder of the California Society of Etchers in 1913 and exhibited often with the San Francisco Art Association.In 1917 she married Herman Albright at the Partington Home and in the same year joined the staff of the CSFA, a position she held until 1946.She served on many art juries and committees, and was an active organizer and respected teacher until her death in San Francisco on September 3, 1959.

She was a member of the Club Beaux Arts in San Francisco, the San Francisco Art Association, San Francisco Women Artists, California Society of Etchers (cofounder).She exhibited at the California State Fair in 1895, the Panama Pacific International Exhibition in 1915 where she won a bronze medal, and at the Schussler Gallery in San Francisco in 1915.She also exhibited at the San Francisco Art Association in 1895 and 1933.Her works are in the De Young Museum and the Oakland Museum.