Gertrude Abercrombie (American, 1909–1977) - Ivory Tower

      In the 19th century, French literary culture adopted the expression tour d'ivoire to symbolize a noble, detached space where artists and thinkers could focus on high-minded pursuits, aesthetics and philosophy away from societal pressures.

      Gertrude Abercrombie’s Ivory Tower presents a mysterious, dreamlike world characteristic of the artist’s surrealist imagination. Through simplified forms, subdued colours, and an enigmatic arrangement of objects, the painting evokes solitude, introspection, and psychological unease. The ivory tower suggests isolation, refuge, or an unreachable mental space.