Portrait of Julie Miller Melman
Portrait of Julie Miller Melman
Portrait of Julie Miller Melman

Portrait of Julie Miller Melman

Object number2016.6.1
Artist (1898 - 1976)
Date1934-1949
MediumCrayon/Graphite/Paper/Adhesive
Credit LineGift of The Lynne Melman Flake Living Trust
DescriptionPortrait drawing of Julie Miller Melman. Dry medium on paper. Rectangular. Three-quarter view bust portrait of sitter's proper left side.Sitter gazes at viewer. Hair is in updo, possibly braided into updo. Sitter wears collared shirt or jacket with one large button on either side of the opening on the front of the garment. Artist signature at bottom center. Drawing is mounted on a rectangular piece of gray paperboard with an unknown adhesive.Dimensions20 x 15.063 in., 0.063 in. (50.8 x 38.3 cm, 0.2 cm)
SignedArtist signature at bottom center "V. Nesbert".
Historical NotesSketch of Julie Miller Melman (1919-2002) by Vincent Nesbert (1898-1976). Melman, a music teacher and professional violinist was a personal friend of the artist. At the time of her death, she lived in Whitehall. She was married to Tut Melman and mother of Betsy Carney and Lynne Flake. She graduated from Homestead High School and also from Carnegie Tech with undergraduate degrees in Music and Education from the University of Pittsburgh. She taught at Skyline Elementary School. She played for the McKeesport Symphony, was a member of American Federation of Musicians, and belonged to the Order of the Eastern Star. Nesbert was a prominent Pittsburgh artist known for producing sketches of his friends. He was a Polish immigrant who arrived in Pittsburgh in 1914. After attending Carnegie Institute of Technology and serving in the Army during WWI he returned to his position as a designer at G.G. O'Brien Company, a sign painting company. He spent some time in New York at Columbia University and returned to Pittsburgh around 1922. He spent time working at Kaufmann's as a display artist and painting portraits of the Kaufmann family. In 1928, he joined the faculty of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and served as their dean for many years. In 1963, he became assistant director. Most of his work is in portraits but he was commissioned to produce a series of large murals in the Allegheny County Courthouse for the WPA.
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