Relatively well known on the East Coast in her youth, Yvonne Twining Humber moved to the Northwest with her husband in the 1940s and promptly fell off the art map.
Yet she kept on.
In 2001, she set up the award that bears her name (administered by Artist Trust) as a shout out to other women who find life getting in the way of art. It was her way of saying, “You’re not alone; keep working.” To win, artists have to be female, 60 years old or older, have worked as an artist for at least 25 years and live in Washington State.
Humber puts me in mind of Tillie Olsen, whose stories of women buried alive under homemaking reflected her own life and meager art output.
Somehow, the award has never gone to anybody like that, and this year is no exception.
Congratulations to Anne Hirondelle, who receives $10,000. More about Hirondelle here. Her gallery here.
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