Pastel Portrait of Francis Quirk's Daughter Ada-Lee

Ada-Lee Quirk is the only surviving child of Francis Quirk. She recently reached out to us and has graciously provided an image of a pastel portrait of herself at age 11. 

Pastel Portrait of Ada-Lee Quirk at age 11 by Francis Quirk

Ada-Lee also has several other works, so we are excited and anxiously hoping to see more images coming before too long. 

Also, a collector in Pennsylvania has graciously sent us personal letters and catalogs from a few exhibitions that Quirk was involved in. We are just beginning to dig into them. These will provide more information about him, his work and his efforts to bring arts to the Lehigh Valley region. 

Francis Quirk Watercolor Painting Emerges in Florida

Recently, a friend of this effort provided an image of a Francis Quirk painting that was previously unknown to us. The watercolor is hanging in a Florida home it depicts an early springtime scene with bare trees, but plantings in bloom. We do not know the exact location or date of the work. 

But one elements of Quirk's style is the depiction of the leafless tree at the right of the painting. It appears to mirror portions of the lumberjack painting we highlighted in this earlier post. 

Given that Quirk was in Pennsylvania during most of his springtimes, we suspect it was painted while he was either teaching at Ogontz College or Lehigh University.

Early Springtime Watercolor by Francis J. Quirk