Women and Leadership Archives Loyola University Chicago Broderick, pg. 1 Virginia Gaertner Broderick Papers 1901-2004, n.d. Creator: Broderick, Virginia Gaertner (1917-2004) Extent: 18 linear ft. Processor: Ashley Eckhardt, June 2, 2010 Administration Information Access Restrictions: None Usage Restrictions: Copyright transferred from Virginia Broderick to the Women and Leadership Archives for most materials created by her. Copyright for some of her artwork resides with various third parties. Preferred Citation: Loyola University Chicago. Women and Leadership Archives. Virginia Gaertner Broderick Papers. Box #, Folder #. Provenance: Virginia Broderick donated her papers to the Women and Leadership Archives in her will. The materials were accessioned as WLA2004.11, WLA2004.12, WLA2004.30, WLA2004.45, WLA2006.18, and WLA2006.80. Separations: A copy of the Skyscraper newspaper from 1940, 23 volumes of Quest, five volumes of The Mundelein College Review, four volumes of Clepsydra, and Agnes Griffin’s English medal from 1939 were removed and added to the Mundelein College Record Collection at the Women and Leadership Archives. Documentation related to the “Twin Barn’s and Silo’s” prints by Edward Cathony was also added to the Mundelein College Record Collection, which contains the actual prints. One folder of materials from Holy Angels Academy from 1935 to 1948 that do not reference Virginia Gaertner Broderick were removed and sent to the BVM Archives in Dubuque, Iowa. A Wisconsin Retail Lumbermen’s Association medal was removed and sent to the Wisconsin Retail Lumber Association Inc. A ribbon and pin from the Romohawk Carnival in Rome, New York, were sent to the Rome Historical Society. A collection of postcards collected by Virginia’s mother were sent to the Curt Teich Postcard Archives at the Lake County Discovery Museum. Approximately 10 linear feet of duplicates and extraneous material were removed. See Also: Mundelein College Records, Women and Leadership Archives; Robert Broderick Papers, Loyola University Chicago University Archives; BVM Archives in Dubuque, Iowa. Biographical History Virginia Joanne Gaertner was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 29, 1917, to George and Lois (Lamb) Gaertner. Her artistic talent was already apparent at a young age and she took classes at the Layton Art School in Milwaukee when only nine years old. She attended public schools in Milwaukee before deciding to attend Holy Angels Academy, a Catholic, all-girls high school, even though her family was not Catholic. Virginia converted to Catholicism in her junior year at the age of 16. At Holy Angels Academy, she continued to develop her artistry and also served as the editor
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Women and Leadership Archives
Loyola University Chicago
Broderick, pg. 1
Virginia Gaertner Broderick Papers
1901-2004, n.d.
Creator: Broderick, Virginia Gaertner (1917-2004)
Extent: 18 linear ft.
Processor: Ashley Eckhardt, June 2, 2010
Administration Information Access Restrictions: None
Usage Restrictions: Copyright transferred from Virginia Broderick to the Women and Leadership
Archives for most materials created by her. Copyright for some of her artwork resides with various
third parties.
Preferred Citation: Loyola University Chicago. Women and Leadership Archives. Virginia
Gaertner Broderick Papers. Box #, Folder #.
Provenance: Virginia Broderick donated her papers to the Women and Leadership Archives in her
will. The materials were accessioned as WLA2004.11, WLA2004.12, WLA2004.30, WLA2004.45,
WLA2006.18, and WLA2006.80.
Separations: A copy of the Skyscraper newspaper from 1940, 23 volumes of Quest, five volumes
of The Mundelein College Review, four volumes of Clepsydra, and Agnes Griffin’s English medal
from 1939 were removed and added to the Mundelein College Record Collection at the Women and
Leadership Archives. Documentation related to the “Twin Barn’s and Silo’s” prints by Edward
Cathony was also added to the Mundelein College Record Collection, which contains the actual
prints. One folder of materials from Holy Angels Academy from 1935 to 1948 that do not reference
Virginia Gaertner Broderick were removed and sent to the BVM Archives in Dubuque, Iowa. A
Wisconsin Retail Lumbermen’s Association medal was removed and sent to the Wisconsin Retail
Lumber Association Inc. A ribbon and pin from the Romohawk Carnival in Rome, New York,
were sent to the Rome Historical Society. A collection of postcards collected by Virginia’s mother
were sent to the Curt Teich Postcard Archives at the Lake County Discovery Museum.
Approximately 10 linear feet of duplicates and extraneous material were removed.
See Also: Mundelein College Records, Women and Leadership Archives; Robert Broderick Papers,
Loyola University Chicago University Archives; BVM Archives in Dubuque, Iowa.
Biographical History Virginia Joanne Gaertner was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 29, 1917, to George and Lois
(Lamb) Gaertner. Her artistic talent was already apparent at a young age and she took classes at the
Layton Art School in Milwaukee when only nine years old. She attended public schools in
Milwaukee before deciding to attend Holy Angels Academy, a Catholic, all-girls high school, even
though her family was not Catholic. Virginia converted to Catholicism in her junior year at the age
of 16. At Holy Angels Academy, she continued to develop her artistry and also served as the editor
Women and Leadership Archives
Loyola University Chicago
Broderick, pg. 2
of the school newspaper, The Aerial. She graduated at the top of her class in 1934 and earned a
scholarship to attend Mundelein College in Chicago, a Catholic women’s college. While at
Mundelein, Virginia continued her artistic and literary success by serving as editor of Clepsydra and
The Mundelein College Review and graduating magna cum laude with a bachelor of fine arts degree
in 1939. Virginia received additional art training at the Art Institute of Chicago, studying under
Samuel Giesbert, and at the Layton Art School, studying under Gerett Sinclair.
After graduating from Mundelein College, Virginia took a job as an artist for the Morrison
Advertising Agency, where she was employed until she decided to focus solely on freelance work
in 1942. On July 3, 1941, she married Robert C. Broderick, a prominent Catholic editor,
encyclopedist, and author. Together they formed a dynamic husband-wife team, collaborating on
works like the Catholic Encyclopedia, first published in 1976, with Robert supplying the text and
Virginia the artwork. Both Robert and Virginia remained self-employed for the rest of their careers,
conducting freelance work out of their home in Brookfield, Wisconsin.
Virginia developed her own artistic style, what she termed “cloisonism,” modeled off artists of the
Impressionist period. Her style consists of clear, vibrant color in which some color forms are lined
while others are not. She used a variety of mediums for her works, including inks, acrylics and oils,
stone lithography, watercolors, pencils, and pastels. Her designs were converted into stained glass,
mosaics, wood cuttings, and marble and bronze statues. Virginia’s works were also published in
numerous formats, including newspapers, magazines, calendars, cards, books, missalette covers,
church bulletins, and offertory envelopes, among others. She also designed numerous larger
commissions for churches, hospitals, and other organizations ranging from statues to murals to
stained glass windows. Her work can be found in approximately fifty churches in the United States,
Canada, Italy, and Korea. She also illustrated fourteen of Robert’s books and co-wrote and
illustrated her own book, How to Create Banners, published in 1978.
Throughout her career, she received numerous commendations and awards for her artwork and
service to the Catholic Church. In 1958, she received the First Pauline Convert Award for apostolic
church service in the field of Catholic art. She also received honors from her alma maters, earning
the Mundelein College Silver Jubilee Award in 1964 and the Holy Angels Academy Jubilarian of
the Year Award in 1998. Perhaps her most laudatory achievement, however, came in 1982 when
both she and Robert were inducted into the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, the highest
honor awarded by the papacy on both clergy and lay people. Virginia continued to produce artwork
until her death on February 6, 2004.
Scope and Content The Virginia Gaertner Broderick Papers contain materials related to Virginia’s personal life as well
as her prolific career as a prominent Catholic artist. The items in the collection chronicle Virginia’s
early life and career, including her education in the Milwaukee Public School System, Holy Angels
Academy, and Mundelein College. The bulk of the materials concern Virginia’s career as a
professional artist and include drafts, originals, and prints of her artwork as well as exhibit materials
and publications containing her work. The collection is divided into five series and the materials
are arranged alphabetically within series, except in Oversize. Due to the various size constraints of
the oversize items, the materials are arranged alphabetically within the four different sizes of the
items.
Women and Leadership Archives
Loyola University Chicago
Broderick, pg. 3
Series 1: Biographical, 1909-2004, n.d., Boxes 1-5 This series consist of materials related to Virginia’s personal life, particularly her early education
and childhood. Items related to her husband Robert, her mother Lois, and her education in the
Milwaukee Public Schools, Holy Angels Academy, and Mundelein College comprise the bulk of
the series. Materials include correspondence, newspaper articles, student and alumnae documents,
and student publications. Also included in this series are items related to Virginia and Robert’s
admission to the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Series 2: Professional, 1910-2004, n.d., Boxes 5-27 Materials in this series document Virginia’s prolific career as an artist through the numerous
publications that included her artwork. Virginia’s art was found in books, newspaper, magazines,
church bulletins, calendars, cards, stationery, and other mediums. These items as well as materials
related to her larger commissions for statues, stained glass windows, and murals in churches and
other buildings are included in this series. Virginia’s original sketches and artwork, professional
correspondence, and exhibit and auction materials all comprise this series.
Series 3: Photographs, 1901-1999, n.d., Boxes 27-29 This series contains photographs related to Virginia’s life and career. These photographs include
images of Virginia and her husband Robert as well as other members of her family. Most of the
photographs concern Virginia’s large commissions at churches and other organizations as well as
images of individual pieces of her artwork and various exhibits in which she participated.
Series 4: Memorabilia, 1945-1998, n.d., Box 30 Several items from Virginia’s childhood and career comprise this series. These materials include
ribbons from art exhibits, religious medals, awards, and various items imprinted with Virginia’s
artwork.
Series 5: Oversized, 1934-1994, n.d., Boxes 31-41 This series contains all the oversize materials of the collection. The bulk of the materials are pieces
of Virginia’s original sketches and artwork, but it also includes newspapers that published her art,
oversize photographs, prints and posters of her art, blueprints from her large commissions, and early
sketchbooks. The materials are arranged alphabetically within the four different sizes of the items.
Subjects: Art, American—20th century
Art, Modern—20th century
Broderick, Robert
Broderick, Virginia
Catholic artists—Wisconsin—Milwaukee
Christian art and symbolism
Church decoration and ornament
Mundelein College
Women and Leadership Archives
Loyola University Chicago
Broderick, pg. 4
Box Folder Title Dates
Series 1: Biographical, 1909-2004, n.d.
1 1 Biographical sketches 1957-2002, n.d.
2 Broderick, Robert 1939-1991, 2003, n.d.
3 Childhood materials 1918-1931
4 Correspondence: Bishops 1955-1997, n.d.
5 Correspondence: Broderick, Robert n.d.
6 Correspondence: Broderick, Robert 1938-1939
7 Correspondence: Broderick, Robert January-June 1940
8 Correspondence: Broderick, Robert July-December 1940
9 Correspondence: Broderick, Robert January-May 1941
2 1 Correspondence: Broderick, Robert August 1941-1943
2 Correspondence: General n.d.
3 Correspondence: General 1936-2002
4 Correspondence: Hope, Bob and Dolores 1987-1999, n.d.
5 Correspondence: Letters to Virginia’s mother regarding
Virginia
1917-1939, 1959, n.d.
6 Correspondence: Mundelein College BVMs 1939-1944, n.d.
7 Correspondence: Pope John Paul II 1987
8 Correspondence: St. Catherine Woman’s Club 1987-2001
9 Correspondence: Toole, Sr. Stella Mary (Mary
Magdalene), O.P.
1958-1977
10 Correspondence: Virginia’s letters to her mother n.d.
11 Correspondence: Virginia’s letters to her mother 1935-1965
12 Correspondence: Virginia’s letters to Robert Broderick 1938-1943, n.d.
13 Correspondence: Virginia’s mother’s letters to Virginia 1947, 1975, n.d.
3 1 Correspondence: Wedding 1941
2 Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem 1983-1988