The MUM diaries

The photo above is of my mum, Gloria Finn, in Italy in the 1960s. Recently I went to see the wonderful Bauhaus exhibit at MoMA and was reminded again about the role my mother played in the art scene over the years. Looking at Anni Albers' incredible weavings at MoMA, I remembered stories of my mother working with Albers, as well as a number of other famous and influential artists.

So I decided to start a little biography of my mum on this blog, along with some photos of her. As many know, I am a second generation artist, following, in many ways, in my mother's footsteps. So I am proud to be the one who gets to tell some of her story.

Please stay tuned for more Mum entries to come!

 

MUM

   My mother arrived in Rome May 1960 having traveled from Madrid by plane.  There was no one to meet her - she had 10 lessons in Italian under her belt and a room at the famous Hotel Eden.  However, when she arrived there was no room available at the Eden. Thankfully the telephonist took pity on her and took her in for the night.

   She was in Italy thanks to a grant awarded to her by Greta Daniel, assistant to Philip Johnson.  Mum had already had a big show of her rugs at the Grace Borgenicht gallery in New York.  The grant was for “Barag” who owned Aldon rugs, and it was $2,500 to go to Italy and create twelve artist-designed rugs.

   Her hostess in Italy was Caresse Crosby (who had been married to the Bostonian heir Harry Crosby - who had committed suicide supposedly as a result of a love affair in 1929, on December 10, which just happens to be my birthday). My mother knew Caresse socially in Washington, DC. Caresse (originally Mary Jane Jacobs) had bought a castle in Rieti, Italy for $16,000. She had grand plans to start an art center. With the castle came the Papal gift of the title "Principessa," which pleased Mary Jane/Caresse immensely. She was not quite so happy when she discovered that along with her "Principessa" title, came the privilege of providing shoes for all the village inhabitants. In response, Caresse suggested she had something better to offer: an expert rug maker who, along with contemporary American and Italian artists and architects, would come and teach the local ladies the craft of rug hooking.