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Marie Trommer

September 29, 1895–February 6, 1971

by Annette Muffs Botnick

Writer and artist Marie Trommer, 1925, colored by the artist. From the Marie Trommer Collection, ARC.101; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

In Brief

Marie Trommer was a writer, poet, artist, art critic, and contributor to American Jewish newspapers. Born in Ukraine, she immigrated to the United States in 1905. Trommer attended the Cooper Union Art School and became known as an artist and art critic in New York, specifically as a staff member of the Jewish Tribune. Her many articles on art and Jewish artists can be found in the Jewish Tribune, The Jewish Daily News, and the Boston Jewish Advocate. Her work as an artist was first exhibited at the Society of Independent Artists in 1924. Trommer specialized in landscapes and figures, working in oils and watercolors. She was a member of the Creative Writers Group, Society of Independent Artists, and Art Alliance of America.

Article

Marie Trommer was an early twentieth-century writer, poet, artist, art critic, and contributor to American Jewish newspapers.

She was born in Kremenchoug, Ukraine, on September 29, 1895 (although at least one reference suggests her year of birth to be 1901), and immigrated to the United States in 1905. She was the daughter of Bernard and Betha (Yedlin) Trembitsky. A graduate of Women’s Art School and Cooper Union Art School in 1914, Trommer became known as an artist and art critic in New York, specifically as a staff member of the Jewish Tribune. Her many articles on art and Jewish artists for the English-Jewish press can be found in the archives of the Jewish Tribune, The Jewish Daily News, and the Boston Jewish Advocate.

Her own work as an artist was first exhibited at the Society of Independent Artists in 1924. Subsequent exhibitions took place in New York City for the next thirty years, at such diverse locations as the American Museum of Natural History, the Grant Galleries, and even at a hobby show at the Lemberg Home for the Aged (1957–1958), where she worked as an occupational therapist. Trommer specialized in landscapes and figures, working in oils and watercolors.

As a writer, she is most remembered for her translations of Russian nature poems into English and her translations of American and British poetry into Russian. She was also the editor and publisher of the American Russian Review, a photo-litho bi-monthly publication. Two of her own published works include “Sketches from My Childhood” and a poem in Avalon Anthology. Trommer received prizes for her writing, two in 1947 for an essay titled World in Books, and one in 1960 from the Avalon organization.

Marie Trommer was a member of the Creative Writers Group, Society of Independent Artists, Salons of America, and Art Alliance of America. She died in New York City on February 6, 1971.

Bibliography

Cooper Union Alumni Association. Records (1971).

WWIAJ (1926, 1928, 1938).

Who’s Who of American Women (1964, 1958, 1972).

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How to cite this page

Botnick, Annette Muffs. "Marie Trommer." Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. 27 February 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on October 11, 2024) <https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/trommer-marie>.