Zelda by Herself: The Zelda Fitzgerald Art Exhibit at the College of Charleston

The Halsey Gallery at the College of Charleston School of the Arts will host the traveling exhibition "Zelda By Herself" February 21st through March 22nd, 2003. This exhibition was organized by International Arts and Artists and is co-sponsored by the School of Humanities and the School of the Arts in conjunction with a semester-long focus on the Jazz Age.

Zelda Fitzgerald was not only an icon of the Jazz Age and the beautiful flamboyant wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald, around whom he shaped his famous female literary figures; she was also an accomplished artist in her own right. Her abundant talents in writing, dancing, doll crafting, and painting were highly successful yet overshadowed by her husband's achievements.

Zelda began painting at the age of 25 and this remained the one artistic expression that she pursued continually throughout her life. She initially painted casually whilst pursuing both writing and dance during her restless years with Fitzgerald. In 1934 Zelda published her last article in Esquire and concentrated solely upon her painting. The major output of her work was produced in the last fourteen years of her life. Suffering from schizophrenia, the majority of her remaining paintings were created after Fitzgerald's sudden death in 1940 of a heart attack. Her subjects reflected her interest in fairy tales, her appreciation of landscape and flowers, and her wonderful sense of the absurd, particularly in her Alice in Wonderland series. Zelda became fanatical about religion in the final years of her life, a penchant that is clearly reflected in many of her later pieces. Zelda died tragically in a hospital fire in 1948.

Comprising 54 framed watercolors, which depict not only aspects of the Fitzgeralds' fast-paced lifestyle, but draw heavily from literary tradition, this exhibition also includes framed, delicate paper doll constructions.

Zelda: An Illustrated Life, a book on her paintings, was released by the Harry Abrams Publishing Company in 1995.

Partial funding for this exhibition has been provided by a major grant from the South Carolina Humanities Council.

For more information, contact the Halsey Gallery at (843) 953-5680.

       —Mark H. Sloan, Director and Senior Curator, The Halsey Gallery