Francis Quirk's Art Documents the Pennsylvania Coal Mines

Among the Quirk works on paper auctioned at the September 2016, Maine auction were a couple of well executed charcoal drawings of coal miners. They may have been illustrations to accompany a short story or novel. One attractive feature of the drawings is that they both convey a scene. The first may be of a miner avoiding potential hostile co-workers.

Charcoal Drawing Leaving the Coal Mine by Francis Quirk

Charcoal Sketch of the group of miners on the back of Leaving the Coal Mine by Francis Quirk

The second image could illustrate the moment when the miners hear an alarm siren. They are looking up from their tasks without the look of relief or joy that would accompany a quitting time signal. Instead they seem taught and concerned. Perhaps they are hearing the rumblings of a cave in?

Charcoal Drawing of Miners by Francis J. Quirk

Francis Quirk’s Anatomical Drawings at the Rhode Island School of Design

In addition to being adept at working in oil, pastel and watercolor; Francis Quirk had a skillful hand for pencil drawing.  Among the works on paper at the Maine sale of items from his estate were a number of pencil drawings. These may have been executed while he was studying at the Rhode Island School of Design from which he graduated in 1929.

We have pasted in images of the works below. Among the more interesting pieces was the one which highlights the muscle groups and anatomy. 

Anatomical Drawing Executed by Francis J. Quirk possibly at the Rhode Island School of Design

Anatomical Drawing Executed by Francis J. Quirk possibly at the Rhode Island School of Design

Anatomical Drawing Executed by Francis J. Quirk possibly at the Rhode Island School of Design

Anatomical Drawing Executed by Francis J. Quirk possibly at the Rhode Island School of Design

Anatomical Drawing Executed by Francis J. Quirk possibly at the Rhode Island School of Design

Anatomical Drawing Executed by Francis J. Quirk possibly at the Rhode Island School of Design

Anatomical Drawing Executed by Francis J. Quirk possibly at the Rhode Island School of Design

Anatomical Drawing Executed by Francis J. Quirk possibly at the Rhode Island School of Design

Anatomical Drawing Executed by Francis J. Quirk possibly at the Rhode Island School of Design

Francis Quirk Exhibits at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts

We had the opportunity to closely examine the painting below which was offered for sale at the September Maine auction of items from the Quirk estate. 

Portrait exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts by Francis J. Quirk

We believe it depicts Francis and his wife Anna attending some type of event. We suspect it was a wedding,concert or reading of some type as both are holding leaflets or programs. Like many portraits it features the two decked out in their finest clothes. Anna rests on a coat with a fur collar wearing a silk blouse, stylish hat, and fine shoes. Francis wears a blue suit in a shade close to Anna’s dress. dress. The painting signature is dated 1940 when Quirk would have been 33 years old. 

Signature of Francis J. Quirk 1940

In examining the reverse of the painting we noticed two interesting labels.  The first is an exhibition label from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the first and oldest art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th- and 20th-century American paintings, sculptures, and works on paper. Its archives house important materials for the study of American art history, museums, and art training. The famous Philadelphia painter Thomas Eakins volunteered there as a teacher. 

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Exhibition Label on Francis Quirk painting

 In checking the Academy website, we found this exhibition that matches the dates on the label.    

Oil Painting and Sculpture by Artists of Philadelphia and Its Environs
April 13 - May 12, 1940 

We are in the process of seeking out images from the catalog.

There also was  a restoration label. from Hiram H. Hoelzer, Inc.  The company is an art restoration company that was most recently located in Greenwich, Connecticut, but may no longer be active.  The back of the painting showed no obvious tears or repairs so we are curious as to the tie with this painting. 

Label on back of Francis Quirk painting  Hiram H. Hoelzer Inc.  Restorer of Paintings

Francis Quirk Draws the War

Francis Quirk lived through an exciting era in our history. Born in 1907, he saw World War I, the Great Depression and then World War II. We have found no particular record of his activity in WWII. He would have been around 34 at its outbreak.

He was not untouched by the conflict as the recent auction of a large number of his works include several ink drawings of soldiers. One is signed '42, so they were executed when the fighting was heavy.

Francis Quirk ink drawing of World War II Soldiers

These are the only pen and ink drawings we have found by Quirk. In addition to the ink lines, he also used some type of wash for shadows and adding value. This may indicate that he used the medium for a particular purpose; perhaps as part of developing an illustration. At this time we can only pontificate and ponder the possibilities.

Francis Quirk ink drawing of World War II Soldiers Advancing

Francis Quirk ink drawing of World War II Soldiers with Communications Man

Francis J. Quirk Signature

Francis Quirk and Maine's Lumber Industry

In his time in Maine, Quirk painted many classic scenes including seacoasts, buildings, and people. But two watercolors capture the lumber industry nicely. The first is of a lumberjack posing with his double edged axe featuring prominently as the owner stands with one foot on a tree section beside a broken tree. The double edged axe is a tool for the professional, or more demanding user with better balance. The edges usually are ground differently for different purposes such as chopping and splitting. The lumberjack wears the classic red hunting hat, work clothes and heavy boots that would provide some protection of an errant bounce of the axe head.  

Lumberjack Painting by Francis Quirk

Perhaps this painting symbolizes the mastery of the lumberjack over the fauna or his role in culling the woods of the weak and dead like the grim reaper of people. Both carry an implement for cutting things down and bring the end of life. But the lumberjack is wearing white.

The Grim Reaper

Francis J. Quirk signature on Lumberjack Watercolor

The second painting is of a lumber mill. With its depiction of the giant blades and toothy log-moving equipment, one can sense the power and danger of these mills. One careless move and a limb or life could be lost. 

Lumber Mill watercolor by Francis Quirk

These were the only two lumber related works we have found to date. There are other works of people active in the boat-building and fishing trades.

Quirk Participates in "Impossible Art" Exhibit in 1970 with Avinash Chandra, Lenore Laine, Sybil Wilson, and Anthony Tortona- Including Quirk's Paintings

Francis Quirk did travel in some impressive circles.  In the February 13 1970 issue of Lafayette, the College's student paper an art exhibition/opening is mentioned in the Happenings section. As we began to research the artists Quirk brought to Lehigh in this exhibition, we became increasingly impressed with their collective vibrancy.

The "Impossible Art" exhibition at Lehigh University would include works by Avinash Chandra, Francis J. Quirk , Lorna Laine, Sybil Wilson and Anthony Tortona. 




Avinash Chandra was a well known artist from India.

Avinash Chandra at his easel.

Painting by Avinash Chandra

Chandra is well profiled including a discussion of this particular work on the South Asian Diaspora Literature and Arts  Archive

This black and white photograph depicts Avinash Chandra at work in his studio in New York. The style of the painting in the photograph is consistent with Chandra's artistic development in the 1960's and early seventies. 

Artist Avinash Chandra was born in Simla,India,in 1931. As a child,Chandra knew he was born to paint and in 1947 he enrolled at the Delhi Polytechnic Art School. His father had wanted him to study Engineering and for six months Chandra's family were unaware he was studying art. However,excelling in his chosen field,Chandra graduated in 1951 with a first class degree. He then joined the staff,teaching fine art to undergraduates. 

Chandra's formal artistic training taught him little about Indian art and more about the 'alien' art of Europe and the west. As a young painter,he began painting landscapes which were highly acclaimed. They expressed nostalgia for the trees and landscape of the Simla hills using vibrant colours. At twenty-one years old,Chandra was the youngest artist to be granted a solo exhibition by the progressive artist's movement,the 'Delhi Silpi Chakra'. One of his first paintings,'Trees',was bought by the then newly established Museum of Modern Art in Delhi,and was awarded first prize in the First National Exhibition of Indian Art at the Lalit Kala Akademi in 1955. However,after three successful exhibitions and relative fame,Chandra grew dissatisfied and felt limited by the artistic scope in Delhi. Yearning for artistic liberation,in 1956 Chandra and his then artist wife,Prem Lata (d. 1975),left Delhi and moved to the UK,following an art scholarship awarded to Lata to study at the Central School of Art in London. 

Renting a flat in North London,Chandra made space to complete half-finished canvases he had brought from India. For two years,he worked alone,applying his early influences of Van Gogh and Soutine. He mastered the technique of oils and quietly observed the trends and themes of worldwide attitudes to art. Chandra's first exhibition in England was hosted by the Royal India,Pakistan and Ceylon Society and held at the Commonwealth Institute (then the Imperial Institute),London in 1957. The exhibition,although successful,left Chandra frustrated. He witnessed the same class of people attend his exhibition as those who had seen his work in Delhi - upper class colonial subjects with royal connections. Chandra felt far from liberated,and saw his initial arrival on the London art scene as being from one colonial environment straight into another. 

In 1959,the same exhibition toured to Belfast where Chandra lived for a period of time. Here,his landscape watercolour paintings reflected the city as he saw it,full of churches,steeple and trees. As time passed,Chandra replaced the churches in the foreground of his canvases with circular shapes he called 'heads',and moved the churches to the background of the landscape. His Belfast art was different from the work of his first exhibition in London,mainly because it became increasingly colourful. He painted his landscapes in vivacious reds and blues with strong black outlines and the finished pieces began to thrill him. 

The late 1950s was a turning point in Chandra's artistic development. It was at this time he desired to break away from what he felt were rigid teachings imposed on him in Delhi. He explored philosophy and searched for an artistic expression that was entirely his own,and not influenced by external teachings or interpretations. After a period of gestation,paintings and drawings 'began to flow like lava' from Chandra. 

It was the sale of a Chandra painting entitled 'Sun',to the famous tenor Sir Peter Pears (1919-1986) in 1960 at the Molton Gallery in London,that ignited the future value and pace of success of Avinash Chandra's work. The 1960s brought Avinash Chandra great public success and critical acclaim. Almost every national newspaper and major art magazine wrote about him. In 1961,Chandra's paintings were exposed to the European art world and were featured at various galleries around Europe. In 1962,the BBC produced a television documentary entitled 'Art of Avinash Chandra' exposing the uniqueness of his work. His paintings were showcased at solo exhibitions at the Gulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art in Durham,and in Newcastle,York and Middlesbrough as well as in a national touring exhibition in the United States. 

In 1965,Chandra became the first Indian British artist to be featured at the Tate Gallery,London,with their purchase of 'Hills of Gold'. In London,the art community described Chandra's work as 'refreshing','optimistic' and him as 'an artist of great ability'.

During the mid 1960s,Avinash Chandra undertook several corporate art commissions for coloured glass murals and became renowned for their magnitude and vibrancy. Among Chandra's commissions were a mosaic mural for the Indian High Commission in Lagos in 1962,the Pilkington Brothers new office building in St Helens,Lancashire,and a fibre glass mural for the new Indian Tea Centre in Oxford Street,London,in 1964.

In 1967 Chandra moved to New York following an award by the Fairfield Foundation Fellowship for Travel and Study. He held several exhibitions on the East coast and was well received by the American art community. Chandra returned to London in 1973 and married actress Valerie Murray in 1977.

The so-called erotic imagery of Chandra's 1970s work has led many critics to draw a direct line between his work and Khajuraho,(the intricate sculptures of Hindu gods,girls dancing and lovers,proclaiming the most exalted experiences of men and women upon the temple walls). However,Chandra saw this connection as part of the preconceived perceptions of how India is seen by the West. 

At this time,Avinash Chandra's main theme was the female body. He began with elegant line drawings which evolved throughout the 1970s,to subtle,erotic coloured drawings. Art critic Ronald Alley said of these paintings 'In Chandra's work,sexual images play a vital role,but it is important to realise that they are almost always introduced as part of a much larger experience in a wider context...their appeal Iies in their constant blending with other poetic images: spires,trees,flowers,hills,moons and stars.' 

Avinash Chandra continued to work within this theme until the mid 1980s,when his paintings gradually returned to landscapes and nature.

Lorna Laine was described on AskARt briefly "Lenore Laine was active/lived in New York.  Lenore Laine is known for geometric abstraction." However, we were able to find at least one of her paintings in a French Museum.

Lenore Laine Painting
"Cadrans bleus dans boîtes rouges"
from the Musee de L'Oise in Beauvais France.  Photo (C) RMN-Grand Palais / Thierry Ollivier

Lenore Laine Portrait

Painting by Lenore Laine

This painting was for sale on EBay. Not only does it stand out as an art work, but also it has an unusual provenance.  It was in the collection of the distinguished nuclear chemist Dr. Edward Sayre, who has made monumental contributions for over half a century in the intersecting worlds of chemistry and the humanities.  From his work on the Manhattan project through his work at the Smithsonian's Conservation Analytical Laboratory his contributions have been profoundly significant.  

Sybil Wilson went on to become known as a designer more than an artist. We found this bio and image on Polyvore.com

Sybil Wilson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1923. She studied at the Art Students League in New York with Ernest Fiene and, after having worked as a graphic designer in Connecticut, studied at Yale University with Josef Albers, receiving a BFA in 1954 and an MFA in 1959. Wilson also studied weaving privately with Anni Albers, and worked with her as editor on Anni Albers's 1961 book "On Designing." Wilson taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and at the University of Bridgeport, and exhibited her work in the 1960s and early-1970s. She was awarded the American Institute of Graphic Arts "50 Best" award in 1960, and her work is in the collections of New York University, University of Kentucky, University of Massachusetts and University of Bridgeport. Sybil Wilson died in 1997.

Black and White ARTIST: Sybil Wilson YEAR: circa 1970 MATERIALS: Acrylic on canvas CONDITION: Very good DIMENSIONS: 35 x 45 inches.

As to Anthony Tortona, we have not been able to track down information on him or his work.


Quirk's Contribution 

At the September 2016 auction in Maine, several Quirk paintings from the exhibition came up for sale. While they are not exceptional paintings, they do illustrate his draftsmanship and willingness to pursuue a new direction for the exhibition. They also add another argument for the case for his versatility.

Francis Quirk Painting for Impossible Art Exhibition at Lehigh University

Francis Quirk Painting for Impossible Art Exhibition at Lehigh University :"Pear, Ivory, Pine"

Label for "Pear, Ivory, Pine" by Francis Quirk

Francis Quirk Painting for Impossible Art Exhibition at Lehigh University

The Working Methods of Francis Quirk

Among the treasure trove of Francis Quirk paintings and drawings that went up for auction in Maine were several sketches for works and preliminary drawings.

The first is a sketch for a later portrait that we have not found. It is interesting to see how he is thinking of how the face fits in with the background and the tool in his hands. In some ways the older gentlemen (possibly a farmer) could be seen as fitting into the same genre as "The Summer Pastor."

Sketch for a painting by Francis J. Quirk 

Water Color Study for Portrait by Francis Quirk.

The second is a watercolor sketch for a portrait of a young man and his dog. Could this be a sketch for the painting of Scott Adams III that won the Juror's Prize at the Providence Art Club's 1932 Exhibition?  The hunting outfit, furniture and dog indicate a person of some degree of affluence.  The discovery of the original painting will provide the answer.

Next we have two pastel sketches of  two boys heads in profile. They were studies for the oil painting of the boys at the shore. Could one of them possibly be his son James?

Pastel Sketch of Older Boy by Francis J. Quirk

Pastel Sketch of Boy by Francis Quirk

Oil Painting of Two Boys By Francis J. Quirk