Francis Quirk, the Artists Relationship with Winter- A Watercolor of a Skier

Among the works of Francis Quirk we have notice one material to be largely missing from his oeuvre- snow. He did seem to have a proclivity for warm weather with a winter home in Arizona, and a Summer home in Maine in addition to his main residence in Bethlehem Pennsylvania. Undoubtedly his teaching duties kept him at Lehigh University for many a winter. And from a news photo we know he was there on at least one snowy day. 

As we were gathering together images for a collection of his watercolors, this image of a skier stood out as it was so different from the boats, buildings and other bucolic scenes he executed in watercolor. It almost looks like it was intended as an illustration. While records of his earnings from illustration work have not been found, it is believed that he derived some income from this side work. 

Artist Francis Quirk's Watercolor Painting of a Skier

Francis J. Quirk Maritime Watercolor Coming to Auction

Francis Quirk loved painting maritime subjects and he had excellent technique. A painting coming up for auction today in New York embodies these statements. You can bid on it here.  The artwork features the bow end of some type of sailing schooner. The outline of the prow and rusting anchors are carefully depicted with numerous ropes,chains, and stays. This artwork was not dashed off in a few minutes. There is great attention to detail.

Maritime Watercolor by Francis J. Quirk 

Watercolor is a difficult medium to work with as one needs to think about where the white space is at the outset. Notice the ripples in the water.

Close up of Stevedores in Maritime Watercolor by Francis J. Quirk 

The close up photo of the stevedores on the dock shows a tremendous amount of craftsmanship from the detail in the rope to the reflection of rigging in the window. 

Signature on Maritime Watercolor by Francis J. Quirk 

This work is dated 1953 when Quirk would have been 36 years old. At this time he would be early in his tenure at Lehigh University. 

Maritime Watercolor by Francis J. Quirk  as Framed

Francis Quirk Honored with Competitive Ossabaw Island Fellowship- All of the Ossabaw Artwork We Could Find

Francis Quirk was an Ossabaw Island Fellow and spoke fondly about the institution with Pennsylvania friends. We believe he may have also capitalized on his time in Georgia to reach out to patrons and obtain other commissions. Note that he has a portrait in the Georgia Museum of Art. We also believe he may have visited the region on multiple occasions.

Many were painted while spending time at the Ossabaw Island Foundation. 

Ossabaw Island is a national treasure preserved by Eleanor Torrey-West and her family for the benefit of present and future generations. Ossabaw is a 26,000 acre undeveloped barrier island on the Atlantic Ocean owned by the State of Georgia and located in Chatham County and not too far from Savannah. The island was generously transferred to the State of Georgia on June 15,1978 and designated as Georgia’s first Heritage Preserve with the written understanding that Ossabaw would “only be used for natural, scientific and cultural study, research and education, and environmentally sound preservation, conservation and management of the Island’s ecosystem.” The acquisition was made possible by the generosity of Mrs. West and her family, a personal gift to the State of Georgia from Robert W. Woodruff, the assistance of The Nature Conservancy, and the State’s commitment to preservation of the island.

Ossabaw Island on Georgia's Coast

The Ossabaw Island Foundation is a public non-profit 501 c3.  Through a public-private partnership with the State of Georgia, inspires, promotes, and manages exceptional educational, cultural, and scientific programs that are designed to maximize the experience of Ossabaw Island, while minimizing the impact on its resources.

The Foundation welcomes all creative people including writers to come and work on the island and be inspired by Ossabaw's solitude and beauty.

In order to continue to balance their operating budget they are no longer able to support complimentary stays.

We have been able to find images of several works painted at the Island.

Glossy White Faced Iris- This painting was featured on the pamphlet for Quirk's solo show at Lehigh in 1973. The pamphlet only showed this black and white image. 

Black and White Image of Glossy White Faced Ibis by Francis J. Quirk  oil on Canvas  From 1973 Exhibition Pamphlet at Lehigh University.

 

At the 2016 Maine auction of paintings from his estate, we were pleased to see the actual painting and we provide a color image below. In comparing the images, we can see that the pamphlet showed a cropped portion of the original image. 

Glossy White Faced Ibis by Francis J. Quirk  Oil on Canvas  Exhibited at Lehigh University in 1973

The following images were also identified at the Maine sale.  One interesting aspect of this set is that they include a number of different styles and media including oil, pastel and watercolor. 

The first, is a pastel of a copse of trees that is nicely executed.

Pastel Artwork of Trees executed at Ossabaw Island by Francis J. Quirk

The second is a watercolor of wetland birds. The trees are painted in a light ethereal manner.

WatercolorArtwork of Egrets and Ibises executed at Ossabaw Island by Francis J. Quirk

The next work depicts wading birds in wetlands with some birds in flight in the background.

Artwork of  Ibises executed at Ossabaw Island by Francis J. Quirk

Pastel of sky with wetland bird accents. This work is reminiscent of Japanese screens in which the birds may make up just a small portion of the work.

Pastel Artwork of Egrets and Cranes executed at Ossabaw Island by Francis J. Quirk

This monochromatic oil painting is unusual in that it is a technique not frequently used by Quirk. This painting demonstrates Quirk's strength as a representational draftsman of great technical skill. This is one of two paintings at the Maine sale. Unfortunately, we ran out of memory and did not capture an image of the other painting. We hope it will if re-emerge in time.  

Monochromatic oil painting executed at Ossabaw Island by Francis J. Quirk (cropped)

Monochromatic painting executed at Ossabaw Island by Francis J. Quirk (as photographed in the original frame)

 The final work is another oil painting of wading birds. 

Oil painting of birds by Francis J. Quirk (cropped)

Oil painting of birds by Francis J. Quirk (as photographed in the original frame)

Another "Impossible Art Painting" by Francis J. Quirk Comes To Light.

Through Pennsylvania friends of Francis Quirk, we have obtained another image of a Quirk painting for the exhibition discussed in an earlier (September 19, 2016 post.) 

Clutch Plate Painting in Frame by Francis Quirk 

Clutch Plate Painting by Francis Quirk

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

New Francis Quirk Maritime Painting Comes to Light

Through our blog we have been contacted by the owner of a previously unknown maritime painting by Francis Quirk. The wonderful work is "Boat in an Ocean" which depicts an outboard-motor powered boat carrying two people cruising beneath a blue sky. Perhaps, they are returning from a day of fishing. The boat is riding fairly low in the water and the bow has some cargo that might be fish, shellfish or netting. 

Boat in an Ocean by Francis J. Quirk

The painting was most probably painted in coastal Maine as Quirk had a house in Saco in the Kinney Shores neighborhood on Old Orchard Beach. He greatly enjoyed depicting maritime settings. This work is a bit different stylistically from other Quirk paintings in that the sky dominates the canvas. The artist has captured the period of morning light before the sky turns pink or the sunrise. The color palate is typical of his work. 

Boat in an Ocean painting by Francis J. Quirk

The owner of the painting recently purchased it in a shop in central Pennsylvania.

Francis J. Quirk Signature on Boat in an Ocean Painting

We greatly appreciate the owner of this painting reaching out to us and providing these images. 

Animal Artwork by Francis Quirk

In our exploration of the art work of Francis Quirk, we have seen that his most popular subject is portraits; he clearly was a student of the human form. And of course he loved his marine paintings with many works featuring sailboats and coastal Maine. And he executed a few landscapes.

But there are relatively few depictions of animals as the entire subject. Of course he did include dogs in portraits including Labrador retrievers, Irish setters, poodles and dachshunds . In these paintings, the pet may have been important tot he sitter, but to Quirk they seem to be elements added for visual interest like the plants he frequently included. 

Below are the four artworks we have found that focus solely on animals. The first is a watercolor of horses moiling in a group. It has a more modern and expressive style than many of Quirk's disciplined studies. Of course the medium lends itself to a more expressive approach. It may have been executed when he was at his Arizona home.

Group of Active Horses by Francis J. Quirk

The Second work is a pastel of a dachshund that is quite well done. 

Dachshund Image by Francis Quirk 

The final works are watercolors of a draft horse and two goats. They were probably executed in Maine near Quirk's summer home in Saco. Both include a full background with traditional farm buildings. It seems that he was trying to capture more than the animal as he includes a wagon wheel and old structures in both images. These give the works an antiquated feel as if they are capturing the end of a bygone era that has now fully slipped away. 

One can imagine Quirk heading off on a summer day to paint in the sunshine.

Draft Horse Watercolor by Francis Quirk

Two Goats in Field Watercolor by Francis Quirk

Pastel Portrait of Edgar Lee Masters Found!

We have previously written several posts about Francis Quirk's portrait of Edgar Lee Masters, which now is in the collection of  the National Portrait Gallery. Quirk was friends with the author space who rented a room from Quirk while he was teaching at Ogontz College. 

Oil Portrait of Edgar Lee Masters in the National Portrait Gallery

The portrait is stunning and we had the opportunity to see it up close when we the Gallery graciously allowed us into their archives for that purpose. 

Through a Pennsylvania friend of Quirk, we have learned of a pastel study for that painting and are sharing with you the image below.  The background is a different shade, but the pose and figure are essentially the same. This pastel ultimately belongs in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery or Lehigh University.

Pastel Portrait of Edgar Lee Masters (Probably a study for the oil portrait in the National Portrait Gallery) by Francis J. Quirk