Quirk's Later Home in Bethlehem

By chance we came upon a label on a Quirk painting for sale and saw the address of  Macada Road- 

Further Research revealed that he  later lived at 219 East Macada Road in Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania so he did not spend his entire time on Homestead Avenue (See earlier blog post below. )

Quirk's later home may reflect some downsizing as his children left for college.  This home is only 2.9 miles from Homestead Ave. 

Quirk Arrives at Lehigh

In searching through the archives of Lehigh University's student newspaper, The Brown and White, we came across this article from Quirk's first year. It provides a brief background and mentions two children. (I had only recently learned of one.)

It mentions an exhibit of his work including pastels, portraits and fishing scenes from Maine.

The house currently listed as 1814 Homestead Ave, Bethlehem, Pennsylania is pictured below. It was built in 1949-50.

Bethlehem Homestead of Francis and Anna Quirk

Francis Quirk Paints Francis Quirk- The Self Portraits

We have finally set the time aside to put together the self-portraits of Francis Quirk in one spot. It is an interesting mix of different styles and ages. 

We are leaving out one image that is in the collection of the Snape Collection at the University of Notre Dame. They have a particularly restrictive policy on sharing images, which in this humble amateur scholar's opinion runs counter to the purpose of an art museum's mission of fostering art appreciation. However, the Snape team does get partial credit as they did share with us an image of their Quirk painting when we were building a signature library in our early days.

So here they are. 

The first is a pastel drawing that was in his papers at the 2016 Auction in Maine. The young Quirk has piercing eyes, brown hair and a strong chin in an almost cartoonish self depiction.

Pastel Self Portrait by Francis J. Quirk

Based on the Materials backing this oil painting, we believe it may have been painted when Quirk was in his late 20's or early 30's. His hair is still brown. 

Oil Self Portrait by Francis J. Quirk

Quirk has a more serious tone and a few more wrinkles in this rather serious frontal view.

Charcoal Self Portrait by Francis J. Quirk

A more pensive profile has a more mysterious aura.

Pastel Self Portrait by Francis J. Quirk

While not a focused self-portrait, this painting of Quirk with his wife Anna also includes his profile.  This painting was exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy. 

Portrait of Francis J. Quirk with wife Anna

The Self Portrait below illustrates Quirk's sense of humor and knack for self-promotion. He is perhaps the only artist with a portrait and self-portrait in the National Portrait Gallery.  He cleverly embedded the sefl-portrait in his commissioned portrait of Edgar Lee Masters. 

Self Portrait of Francis J. Quirk embedded in the portrait of Edgar Lee Masters

Portrait of Edgar Lee Masters with embedded Self Portrait of Francis J. Quirk

Quirk exhibited this gray haired self-portrait in his final exhibition at Lehigh University, which also included works from Ossabaw Island.  

Self Portrait by Francis J. Quirk

Photo of Francis J. Quirk at the time of his retirement from Lehigh University.

Francis Quirk Designs a Medal

Among the Quirk papers auctioned in 2016 was the design for a medal. The medal has the title of “ART AND PHILOSOPHY” and features a toga clad man seated on a marble bench surrounded with scrolls. He appears to be deep in thought.

Art and Philosophy Medal Design by Francis Quirk

We have no idea if the medal was ever cast and have found no reference to it on the internet. This may have been an academic assignment.

We did find it interesting that with the medal design is some background lines that he used as a tool for aligning the elements. One salient feature is that he used the classic triangle to lay out the paintings key elements.

An illustration of the esteem for the triangle being reserved for important subjects is the uproar caused by George Caleb Bingham’s The Jolly Flatboatmen.  The painting is now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Bingham was known for his paintings of hunters, trappers and boatman on the Mississippi. But, he also executed some genre scenes around elections that were quite good as well.

The Jolly Flatboatmen by George Caleb Bingham

The triangle composition in the Flatboatmen caused a bit of a stir as some art connoisseurs asked, “How the painter could use this format of common working men?” Looking back, this writer’s view would be “That is exactly the point. These humble men are exulting in life and the arts. Is an honest day’s work not noble? Isn’t the joy of music and dance not noble? This is not the dance of the seven veils here.  

The Watercolors of Artist Francis Quirk Can Now be Found In One Place

We finally have made the time to get all the Francis Quirk Watercolors in one place on Slideshare.  You can find them by clicking here. 

To whet your appetite, we are providing a few images below. 

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)