Edith Hillinger
20th Century
American, b. 1933
Edith Hillinger is a California artist who primarily creates watercolor paintings and mixed media collages. Though Hillinger draws inspiration from botanical and natural scenes, her career has seen her work tend more toward abstraction. Her work also takes inspiration from her formative experiences in different countries, implying "whole cultural histories through expression that is utterly personal." Her collage work has been noted to recall Picasso's graphic work, as well as the paintings of Paul Klee. This work can be seen as a synthesis of the influences of her youth, the adorned surfaces of Turkey and the minimal forms of the Bauhaus. Hillinger has been documented as a founding member of the second wave women's movement, included in a directory of influential members who made notable changes to customs or laws in the U.S. She continues this work today toward the inclusion of female artists in the art historical canon. Hillinger founded the Bay Area Women Artists' Legacy Project to highlight women's contributions to Bay Area art.