Outsiders: Gluck

Gluck (1895-1978) was a mid-century queer painter from London. She showcased in dozens of solo shows throughout her career, ranging in style, technique, and topic. She is most famous for her painting, Medallion, which is still considered one of the most important lesbian portraits.  

For Further Reading

• Gluck: A Forgotten Queer Artist of the 1920s
• Stunningly Modern Paintings by a Gender Bending 1920’s Artist 
• Gluck by Gluck

This month we're talking about Outsiders -- women who marched to the beat of their own drum and rejected stereotypes about what women "should" be. They are aesthetic pioneers, norm-benders, and often the only woman in their field.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello for Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Womanica. This month we're talking about outsiders, women who
march to the beat of their own drum and rejected
stereotypes about what women should be. Their aesthetic pioneers norm benders,
and often one of the only women in their field.

(00:25):
Imagine you're walking into a gallery in London. As you
pass each wall, you notice the range of paintings. There
is a seaside landscape dotted with English cottages, a portrait
of a wealthy woman in giant pearl earrings, a boxing match,
and large bouquets of kalalilies. The styles vary as well.
Some are clearly abstract, others highly realistic. Each painting is

(00:49):
signed by an androgynous name, obscuring the artist's gender. This
artist was someone who didn't want to be categorized. Today's
Womaniquin worked tirelessly to never be defined by style, genre,
or gender. Please welcome Gluck. It's impossible to know exactly
how Gluck would have self identified under today's understanding of gender.

(01:13):
Surviving documents in Gluck's own voice use first person pronouns
only for our purposes. Will use she, her pronouns as
that is how she was referred to while she was alive.
Gluck's given name was Hannah Gluckstein. She was born to
a wealthy Jewish family in London in eighteen ninety five.
Her family was part of high society and how traditional values,

(01:35):
which Gluck found to be constrictive. As a teen, Gluck
began expressing herself. In spite of these constructions, She insisted
on going to art school, even getting the head of
Saint Paul's art department to convince her parents to let
her attend. With a reluctant sigh, her parents let Gluck
study there. She didn't disappoint and won an award for

(01:56):
her paintings. She then contributed her artistic pursuits at St.
John's Wood Art School. Gluck found the lessons to mostly
be a waste of time, but the school proved educational
and transformative in another way. In one of the classrooms,
Gluck noticed a student defying gender norms who went by Craig.
Gluck was enamored. Although Gluck's parents were hesitant about their

(02:22):
child's artistic ambitions, that didn't stop them from bestowing a
sizeable trust fund to her on her twenty first birthday.
Now Gluck had the financial support to live whatever life
she wanted, So instead of settling down as a good
high society woman, Gluck chopped off her hair, bought a
studio in Lamorna, and ran away with Craig to the seaside. There,

(02:46):
amongst the fishermen's boats and quaint, colorful cottages, was an
artist's colony, miles away from her uptight family and society.
Gluck cleaped off the end of her name. She no
longer answered to Hannah and went by Gluck, no prefix
or efs. Wielding her new androgynous name, Gluck walked around
town wharing men's attire, hair boffed and a pipe hanging

(03:07):
out of her mouth. The expansive sky, wide open seas
and slower, softer pace of life fueled her creativity. Here
in this bohemian enclave, Gluck learned from many other influential
artists and practiced landscapes. One day, Gluck sat down and

(03:27):
painted her first known work, a realistic portrait titled the
Artist's Grandfather. Legend has it she only needed an hour
to complete it. As the years ticked on, Gluck started
showing in London and got used to the long commute
from the seaside to the city. By nineteen twenty four,
Gluck held her first solo exhibition at the London Dorian

(03:49):
Lee Galleries. Fifty seven of Gluck's paintings filled the space.
The show was a success, and Gluck received many commissions
for portraits. A rotation of people sat for Gluck, elite
members of society like lawyers, judges, and their wives. By
nineteen twenty six, Gluck ended her relationship with Craig and

(04:09):
exhibited again at the Fine Art Society in London, this
time displaying a range of theater scenes using more abstract
and cubist techniques. Gluck was now represented by the Fine
Art Society. With every exhibition, the focus was never solely
on Gluck's artistic prowess. The press couldn't help but comment
on her androgynous appearance. Gluck never truly identified as a

(04:31):
woman in her life, sometimes referring to herself as a
boyee with two ease at the end of the word.
She pushed back when people misidentified her, going as far
as quitting an art society when someone wrote miss Gluck
on an official document. Another annoyance at these exhibitions was
Gluck's mother. Either by defiance or stubbornness, Gluck did not

(04:51):
want her family meddling in her profession, despite the fact
that her parents were well connected, but her mother and
her mother's friends often frequented gluckx exi phibitions anyway. In
the early nineteen thirties, Gluck was asked by the Fine
Arts Society for another exhibition. Gluck was dating Constance Spry,
a famous florist. For that show, Gluck filled the gallery

(05:14):
with paintings of grand bouquets, which soon filled the homes
of wealthy London women. Everything changed for Gluck when she
met Nesta Oburmer. Nesta was a playwright, painter, and philanthropist.
She was tall and feminine, standing nearly a head taller
than Gluck. She was also married to a wealthy man. Gluck,
looking up at Nesta, considered her to be the biggest

(05:36):
love affair of her life. On May twenty fifth, nineteen
thirty six, the two exchanged rings and Gluck began calling
Nesta her wife and herself the husband. That day was
called the Ui Anniversary in Gluck's diaries. UI was also
the title of Gluck's most well known piece, also known
as Medallion. The painting is of Gluck and Nesta's profiles

(05:57):
overlapping each other. Nesta's prof while looks up as if
towards the future, painted in a brighter light than Gluck,
who looked straight ahead stoically. Gluck was inspired by a
performance of Don Giovanni that the two attended in the theater.
They sat in the third row and Gluck felt fused
to Nesta by the music, but their relationship was inherently strained.

(06:21):
Nesta was still legally married to her husband. This could
have contributed to Gluck swiftly becoming possessive and controlling. Gluck
stated that their relationship was intense and all consuming. In
nineteen forty four, Nesta ended the romance, though the pair
remained lifelong friends. Towards the latter half of her life,
Gluck lost inspiration and put down her paint brush. This

(06:44):
was partially due to what she saw as a decline
in quality of painting materials, so she channeled her energy
to fight for better standards. She worked with and sometimes against,
the British Standards Institution to help uniform and improve pigment
oils and canvases. A wowing age to get the best
of her. Gluck put on one final show when she
was seventy seven years old at the Gallery of the

(07:07):
Fine Arts Society. Was Gluck's final big picture, that of
a decomposing fishhead, titled Rage Rage Against the Dying of
the Light. Critics raved about the show, and many paintings
were sold. Gluck passed away on January tenth, nineteen seventy eight.
She was eighty two years old. All month, we're talking

(07:28):
about Outsiders. For more information, find us on Facebook and
Instagram at Wamanica Podcast special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my
favorite sister and co creator. Talk to you tomorrow.