Isabel Bloom

Biography to Display:

1908 Born Galveston, Texas

2001 Died Davenport, Iowa

EDUCATION

Vouge School of Fashion Design

Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, Illinois

APPRENTICESHIPS & RESIDENCIES

Summer 1932 Stone Art City Colony, Stone City, Iowa

PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE

1953-1957 TV host and creator, “Let’s Make-Believe,” a children’s art program, which ran on WOC-TV in Davenport, Iowa

1963-1981 Isabel Bloom Studio, Davenport, Iowa

BIOGRAPHY

Isabel Bloom is known for small, whimsical ceramic sculptures of animals and children, finished with simple transparent glazes. Later in life, Bloom worked on large scale cement and cast sculptures, inspired by Victorian-era bronze garden sculptures.

In 1932, Isabel Bloom attended Stone Art City Colony in Iowa, which was founded by Grant Wood, Edward Rowan, and Adrian Dornbrush. It was open only during the summers of 1932 and 1933. Here, Bloom took sculpting classes and met her future husband John Bloom. Isabel Bloom was largely self-taught ceramist and sculptor.

Isabel Bloom’s legacy lives on in the Isabel Bloom Art Education Endowment, which supports visual art education in the Quad Cities area in Iowa1. The Isabel Bloom studio in Davenport, Iowa remains in operation; Bloom sold the business in 1981.

Public Collections

Public Collections to Display:

Brunnier Art Museum, Iowa Stgate University, Ames, Iowa

Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa

Typical Marks

“Isabel Bloom” inscribed, sometimes with year.