Joanne Grossmann
(b. 1930- d. 2017)
Toledo, Ohio
Joanne Grossmann artwork available at 20 North Gallery
For purchase inquiries, please contact 20 North Gallery:
419-241-2400 or info@20northgallery.com
Artist Biography
Joanne Grossmann graduated from Perrysburg High School (Ohio) in 1948 and went on to attend Bowling Green University (Ohio) before studying art at Ohio University (Athens, Ohio). In 1952, Grossmann settled in West Toledo, where she continued to study art at The Toledo Museum of Art. In 1972, the Grossmann family moved to a home in Toledo’s Westmoreland neighborhood where she converted the historic ballroom into a grand studio, giving her the freedom to create scores of large-scale paintings, on seven-foot canvases. Twice yearly, she and her husband, Fred Grossmann, would travel to Keeneland, Kentucky to view the horses and landscape that often inspired her annual contributions to the former Derby Days exhibition at 20 North Gallery.
Employing a motif of fictional scenes, the themes captured in Grossmann’s expressive and personal imagery create ambiguous spaces with figures isolated in time and context. Her paintings display a sense of familiarity through the representations of rural and urban settings, but also reveal subtle themes of emotional distance.
During her period of professional activity as an artist, Grossmann’s paintings were accepted into numerous national, museum-sponsored, juried exhibitions. Her most recent exhibition was a tribute show at Way Public Library (Perrysburg) in 2015. This exhibit also celebrated her book, Letters From Camp, a memoir of World War I letters written by her father, Floyd Thornton, edited and illustrated by Grossmann. In her final years, Grossmann returned to her native city of Perrysburg before passing away in May of 2017.
Previous 20 North Gallery exhibitions including artwork by Joanne Grossmann
- Derby Days 2003: May 3 – June 13, 2003. Click to view exhibit postcard.
- Derby Days 2004: May 1 – June 18, 2004. Click to view exhibit postcard.
- Derby Days 2005: May 7 – June 5, 2005. Click to view exhibit postcard.
- Derby Days 2006: May 6, 2006. Click to view exhibit postcard.
- Derby Days 2007: May 5, 2007. Click to view exhibit postcard.
- Derby Days 2008: May 3 – June 15, 2008. Click to view exhibit postcard.
- Joanne Grossmann: the Larger Narrative: October 6 – December 30, 2017. Click to view exhibit page.