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Margaret Naumburg
Margaret Naumburg (May 14, 1890 – February 26, 1983) was an American psychologist, progressive educator, author and among the first major theoreticians of art therapy. She named her approach dynamically oriented art therapy. Prior to working in art therapy, she founded the Walden School of New York City.
Margaret Naumburg was born in New York City on May 14, 1890, into a prominent German-Jewish family whose wealth and cultural capital positioned her within New York’s elite circles. Her father, Max Naumburg, descended from a long line of musicians and Reform Jewish community leaders originally from Bavaria. The family had a deep legacy in music patronage: her cousin Walter Naumburg founded the prestigious Naumburg Prize, and her uncle Elkan Naumburg funded the construction of the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, where free classical concerts continue today.
Despite these privileged surroundings, Margaret’s childhood was emotionally difficult and creatively stifling. Her mother, Therese Kahnweiler Naumburg, was socially conservative and upheld rigid domestic norms, which Margaret found oppressive. Margaret later described her early home life as one in which “youthful efforts at creation were laughed at or brushed aside” and where compliance, silence, and order were expected above all else. As a teenager, she wrote on her bedroom wall: “To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing”—a bleak encapsulation of the psychic confinement she experienced within her family home.
She had two older sisters, Alice and Florence, and one younger brother, Robert. Of all her siblings, Florence, eight years Margaret’s senior, exerted the most enduring influence. Florence was graceful, artistic, and independent—qualities Margaret longed for and admired. In adulthood, Florence became an artist and educator, later collaborating with Margaret at the Walden School as the head of its art department. Together, they would pioneer early practices that integrated psychoanalytic and creative expression in child development, laying the groundwork for art therapy.
In 1916, Margaret married the writer and intellectual Waldo Frank. Their marriage was forged within the progressive, bohemian milieu of Greenwich Village and was understood by both to be unconventional. Frank was openly unfaithful and considered the marriage more of a social arrangement. They had one son, Thomas Frank, in 1922. While Waldo hoped that parenthood would bring emotional unity to the relationship, Margaret found herself overwhelmed—both by the demands of motherhood and the collapse of their shared idealism. The marriage deteriorated, and they divorced in 1924.
During and after her marriage, Margaret engaged in an intense romantic and spiritual relationship with Jean Toomer, the Black writer and mystic best known for Cane. Their bond was forged through mutual involvement in the teachings of Georges Gurdjieff, whose spiritual system of “The Work” emphasized harmony between mind, body, and emotion. However, their relationship ultimately fell apart due to both interpersonal tensions and the racialized dynamics of Toomer’s leadership within the Harlem Gurdjieff community, which Margaret struggled to navigate.
Margaret's family life—marked by emotional constraint, gendered expectations, and personal longing—deeply informed her educational and therapeutic innovations. Her vision of child-centered education and her later development of dynamically oriented art therapy can both be seen as direct responses to the repressions of her early familial world. Rather than replicating the moralism and rigidity of her upbringing, Naumburg’s life work sought to liberate creativity, give voice to unconscious expression, and foster relational freedom.
Margaret Naumburg’s educational path reflected both her rebellion against conventional schooling and her lifelong search for integrative, liberatory approaches to learning. After a childhood marked by dissatisfaction with rigid classroom structures—where she recalled “the hard wooden benches, the rigid posture, often hands behind the back, and the enforced silence of school periods”—Naumburg sought out alternative models of education that emphasized individuality, creativity, and psychological insight.
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Margaret Naumburg
Margaret Naumburg (May 14, 1890 – February 26, 1983) was an American psychologist, progressive educator, author and among the first major theoreticians of art therapy. She named her approach dynamically oriented art therapy. Prior to working in art therapy, she founded the Walden School of New York City.
Margaret Naumburg was born in New York City on May 14, 1890, into a prominent German-Jewish family whose wealth and cultural capital positioned her within New York’s elite circles. Her father, Max Naumburg, descended from a long line of musicians and Reform Jewish community leaders originally from Bavaria. The family had a deep legacy in music patronage: her cousin Walter Naumburg founded the prestigious Naumburg Prize, and her uncle Elkan Naumburg funded the construction of the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, where free classical concerts continue today.
Despite these privileged surroundings, Margaret’s childhood was emotionally difficult and creatively stifling. Her mother, Therese Kahnweiler Naumburg, was socially conservative and upheld rigid domestic norms, which Margaret found oppressive. Margaret later described her early home life as one in which “youthful efforts at creation were laughed at or brushed aside” and where compliance, silence, and order were expected above all else. As a teenager, she wrote on her bedroom wall: “To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing”—a bleak encapsulation of the psychic confinement she experienced within her family home.
She had two older sisters, Alice and Florence, and one younger brother, Robert. Of all her siblings, Florence, eight years Margaret’s senior, exerted the most enduring influence. Florence was graceful, artistic, and independent—qualities Margaret longed for and admired. In adulthood, Florence became an artist and educator, later collaborating with Margaret at the Walden School as the head of its art department. Together, they would pioneer early practices that integrated psychoanalytic and creative expression in child development, laying the groundwork for art therapy.
In 1916, Margaret married the writer and intellectual Waldo Frank. Their marriage was forged within the progressive, bohemian milieu of Greenwich Village and was understood by both to be unconventional. Frank was openly unfaithful and considered the marriage more of a social arrangement. They had one son, Thomas Frank, in 1922. While Waldo hoped that parenthood would bring emotional unity to the relationship, Margaret found herself overwhelmed—both by the demands of motherhood and the collapse of their shared idealism. The marriage deteriorated, and they divorced in 1924.
During and after her marriage, Margaret engaged in an intense romantic and spiritual relationship with Jean Toomer, the Black writer and mystic best known for Cane. Their bond was forged through mutual involvement in the teachings of Georges Gurdjieff, whose spiritual system of “The Work” emphasized harmony between mind, body, and emotion. However, their relationship ultimately fell apart due to both interpersonal tensions and the racialized dynamics of Toomer’s leadership within the Harlem Gurdjieff community, which Margaret struggled to navigate.
Margaret's family life—marked by emotional constraint, gendered expectations, and personal longing—deeply informed her educational and therapeutic innovations. Her vision of child-centered education and her later development of dynamically oriented art therapy can both be seen as direct responses to the repressions of her early familial world. Rather than replicating the moralism and rigidity of her upbringing, Naumburg’s life work sought to liberate creativity, give voice to unconscious expression, and foster relational freedom.
Margaret Naumburg’s educational path reflected both her rebellion against conventional schooling and her lifelong search for integrative, liberatory approaches to learning. After a childhood marked by dissatisfaction with rigid classroom structures—where she recalled “the hard wooden benches, the rigid posture, often hands behind the back, and the enforced silence of school periods”—Naumburg sought out alternative models of education that emphasized individuality, creativity, and psychological insight.