Dorothy Winslade (1898 - 1973)

Dorothy Winslade was born on the Isle of Wight, England in 1898. Influenced by her artist father, she early on became fascinated with art and studied in London, then Paris after volunteer service in Queen Mary's Auxiliary Army Corps during W.W.I. She came to the United States in 1924 and studied at the California School of Fine Art in San Francisco (now San Francisco Art Institute). Most active in the 1930s and 40s, her work was often exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Oakland Gallery, the Oakland Museum and the San Francisco Society of Women Artists. Winslade was also represented at the Golden Gate Exposition. She sketched portraits of U.S. soldiers home on leave during WW II for the U.S.O. and earned a degree from the University of California Extension. She served in the United States Navy as a draftsperson.

While studying at the California School of Fine Arts, Winslade met her future husband, Oswald Kurman, who also became a well- known Peninsula artist. They were wed in 1934 and lived in San Francisco until 1951, when they moved to Millbrae, California. She kept her maiden name throughout her life to avoid the comparison of her work to that of her husband.

Winslade was a versatile artist. Her commercial art expertise was exemplary in technique. She was particularly adept at the difficult printing medium of drypoint, which she printed herself. The content of her work ranged from whimsical innocence to pointed satire. Her watermedia landscapes recorded brilliantly the California coast and hills and the cityscapes of San Francisco.