Studio Exhibit: Suzy Frelinghuysen artist and opera singer

Suzy grew up in Princeton and Elberon New Jersey. As the youngest of five and the only girl, her mother was musical and free-thinking. She exposed the children to music, art and more than traditional athletics including gymnastics and diving. Suzy grew up as a bit of a tomboy. She had lessons in voice, piano, organ, and harp as well as painting. She recalled visits to musical theater and the opera from the age of six. Childhood trips to the great European music festivals, particularly Bayreuth, made a lasting impression on her. She chose to pursue opera and moved to New York at 18 and studied voice but continued to paint. Her parents were older, and both died before she was 20 years old. She and George were set up on a blind date with mutual friends at the opera. During intermission, George hummed a series of arias and challenged Suzy to identify them. She correctly guessed each one. They married a year later in 1935. Within a year of marriage, painting became a serious endeavor, and her painting became more modern. Although influenced by her husband, Suzy had a mind of her own and maintained a separate identity. Her musical life permeated her paintings, collages and frescoes. She employed sheet music, musical instruments, and musical motifs in her compositions. Suzy acknowledged that she found her sources in the collection she lived with and her daily exposure to Picasso, Braque, Leger and Gris, is felt in her novel and elegant originality. She often makes clever and humorous twists on artistic themes dear to her Cubist mentors. She was the first woman to exhibit in the Museum of Living Art in 1938. She was included in Peggy Guggenheim’s Exhibit by 31 Women in 1943 and was exhibited at the Whitney Museum in 1944. In 1947 Suzy became an overnight opera star in her lead role in Ariadne auf Naxos under the name Suzy Morris. Her stellar career continued until 1951 when she retired after a bout of bronchitis, and was convinced she had lost her voice. She always maintained that her primary identity was as a singer, however she explained her dual career this way, “…one is a good balance for the other. Painting is so contemplative while singing is so personal”.