Adelphi University Presents "Recent Acquisition: The Works of Christine A. Schmidt"

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - Nov. 18, 2016 - PRLog -- The Adelphi University Exhibitions Program and Art Collection are pleased to present the recently acquired work of alumna Christine A. Schmidt. Her sister, Alice Schmidt, not only donated more than 600 works to Adelphi but curated a retrospective exhibition conveying a broad range of her art throughout the years. This exhibition, which is open to the public, will be on view in the Performing Arts Center Gallery (Second Floor) until Sunday, December 18, 2016. A reception, with light refreshments, will be held on Wednesday, November 16, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Christine A. (Alice) Schmidt was born September 1, 1932 in, St. Albans, NY. She graduated from Sewanhaka HS in Floral Park, NY and continued onto Parsons School of Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology, both in New York City. She also studied at Adelphi University in Garden City, NY where she received her bachelor's degree and Pratt Institute, in Brooklyn, NY, where she obtained her master's degree in printmaking.

In the 1950s and 60s, Christine was a coat and suit fashion designer in New York City; houses included Finger & Rabiner, Soebel's and Grioni. Her creations were sold in Lord & Taylor, Best & Co., Sak's Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman. In London, she designed for the House of Wallis Austin retailing in Harrods. Her coats and suits were featured and advertised in Harper's Bazaar, Charm, Vogue and Glamour magazines. In the same year, three separate autumn issues had Christine's designs on their covers.

Schmidt's most notable and self-gratifying contributions were in education and as a watercolorist and printmaker. While earning her bachelor's degree at Adelphi, she taught art full time in parochial and public schools on Long Island and the Lower East Side of New York City. Her teaching career of more than 25 years included 18 while at Cold Spring Harbor High School on Long Island where she taught art to grades 7 through 12, with specialties in fine art, fashion design, printmaking and advanced painting.

During the middle to late 60s and early 70s, Christine's Gallery was on Main Street located in Huntington, NY where she displayed her etchings and watercolors and worked after hours with students. The gallery moved to Southwest Harbor, Mount Desert Island, ME in Acadia National Park in the spring of 1971. It was only operational during summers until 1985, when Christine left teaching and permanently relocated to Maine to devote all her time to her creating and selling her work.

In her lifetime, Schmidt created more than 250 limited edition (50–150) linoleum and zinc plate etchings. Today, 80 plates are available in small quantities.

Christine's abstract, nonobjective and realistic paintings number well over 2000. She worked in a variety of media including watercolor, acrylic, casein, charcoal, pencil with additions of colored tissue papers, salt, sand, melted cray-pas – anything that suited her fancy. She sold the originals to select clients. Thousands of her reproductions are in all 50 states and worldwide, with heavy concentrations in Europe. She was nominated for and received into the Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Women and Who's Who in the World.

Schmidt traveled extensively in the United States, Canada and Europe, living abroad for several years. Her work was produced on-site as well as from her own photographs. In her off time she was an avid nonfiction reader, especially of history and contemporary events.

Christine Schmidt died June 26, 2009 having positively influenced 3500 students and lovers of fashion and fine art worldwide.

The Performing Arts Center Gallery is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. To learn more about the exhibitions, please visit art-galleries.adelphi.edu and find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @AUExhibitions.

About Adelphi: A modern university with deep roots

Adelphi University is a nationally ranked, doctoral research university offering exceptional liberal arts and sciences programs and professional training with particular strength in its Core Four—AU Arts and Humanities, AU STEM and Social Sciences, AU Professions, and AU Health and Wellness.

Founded in Brooklyn in 1896, Adelphi was one of the first coeducational institutions of higher education in New York State and is Long Island's oldest private coeducational university. Today Adelphi serves nearly 7,500 students from 38 states and 46 countries at its beautiful main campus in Garden City, New York—just 23 miles from New York City's cultural and internship opportunities—and at dynamic learning hubs around the state (New York City, the Hudson Valley and across Long Island) and online.

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