Olinka Hrdy
Olinka Hrdy (1902 - 1987) new article content ...Olinka Hrdy (1902 - 1987) was a female artist who was born in Prague, Oklahoma and became a noted artist in Oklahoma. She graduated in 1928, from the University of Oklahoma (OU), where she majored in art. Her teachers included Oscar Jacobsen and Edith Mahler, who considered her one of their most gifted students. She earned part of the money for her education by painting murals in a restaurant in Norman, Oklahoma and a set of panels in the women's dormitory at OU.[1]
Early life and education
Olinka Hrdy was born August 7, 1902, in a one-room sod hut in Prague, Oklahoma to Josef Hrdy, an immigrant from Bohemia, and his wife, Emma, who was of Indian descent.[1] [a] She had two brothers: Carl, who was older and George, who was younger. Eduard Benes, the second president of Czechoslovakia, was her second cousin. Her parents divorced when she was about sixteen, and she had no contact with her father after she left home for college.[2]
When Olinka Hrdy enrolled in the University of Oklahoma in 1923, she initially declared her major as domestic arts. She had become proficient in embroidery, which was traditionally practiced by Czech women in her home town. She saw this as a path to learning sewing. She learned instead that domestic arts was boring and switched her major to art at the end of her first semester. Hrdy said that she had only fifty dollars when she arrived at OU. An instructor saw examples of her work and invited her to paint a mural in one of the School of Creative Design offices.[2]
Notes
References
- ^ a b Lee, Eric McCauley. The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma, 2004. p. 210. isbn=0806136804 Available on Google Books. Retrieved March 18, 2017
- ^ a b c Wall, Holly. "Lost Olinka." This Land. September 20, 2011. Accessed March 18, 2017.