Ita Aber

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

Ita Aber
Born1932
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
EducationEmpire State College
Known forTextiles, conservation, curatorial

Early life and career

Ita Aber was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1932. Her first exposure to feminism was by her grandmother, an early suffragette in Canada, and her mother, who founded the Milk Fund of Canada.[1]

Aber took courses in Jewish history, archaeology, art and textile conservation at Queen's College, Columbia University, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and New York University.[2][3] She completed a bachelor's degree in Cultural Studies from Empire State College[2] and carried out graduate-level studies at The Valentine Museum (Richmond, Virginia)[3] and the Metropolitan Museum of Art,[2] earning a master's degree equivalent in Jewish Art.[1]

In 1964, Aber became politically active, specifically in the Reform Democratic movement.[1] Through her early political involvement, she sought to abolish laws in New York restricting abortion.[1] She helped found Women Strike for Peace, and also became active in the environmental movement, speaking out against the pollution in the Hudson River.[1] At this time, she also became active in equal rights activism, minority and elder rights.[1]

Aber was a founding member of the New York Feminist Art Institute and the founder of the Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework.[1] Starting in 1972, she taught needlework at the Jewish Museum, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum and other venues throughout the eastern United States.[1] With her teaching and the founding of the Pomegranate Guild, Aber has sought to encourage women to show their womanhood through their artwork, and to learn how to respect themselves through their artistic efforts.[1]

Today

Aber's artistic-related archives are held at the Archives of American Art,[1][4] with other archival collections being held by the National Museum of Women in the Arts.[1] Her family's papers are held at Yeshiva University.[5]

Exhibitions
  • 2001 "55 Year Retrospective Exhibition", Broome Street Gallery[6][7]
  • 2007 "Ita B'Ita: Ita Aber in Her Time: 60 Years of Creativity and Innovation by Ita Aber" Yeshiva University museum.[8][9]

Bibliography
  • 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
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References
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Archives of American Art. "Summary of the Ita H. Aber papers, 1950–2007 – Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution". si.edu.
  5. Guide to the Aber Family Papers 1900–1992
  6. "American Guild of Judaic Art". jewishart.org.
  7. 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.
  8. "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.
  9. Bauer, Linda (August 17, 2007). "'60 Years of Creativity by Ita Aber' at Yeshiva University Museum". The Newtown Bee (Newtown, Connecticut). newtownbee.com. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
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