Frederick Carl Frieseke: Outside Interests

"Frances" by Frederick Carl Frieseke

"In Paris the Friesekes kept up their social schedule. Fred painted in the morning, played billiards in the afternoon. They had luncheon, tea, or dinner with friends, and attended musical and theatrical offerings. Sadie, being far more gregarious than Fred, was more likely to take part in the salons at Gertrude Stein's than he. He preferred to lunch quietly with his good friend the Irish painter Roderic O'Conor, a neighbor on the rue du Cherche Midi and once Gauguin's painting companion, or he might play billiards with the painter Charles Thorndike, visit exhibitions, or browse the book stalls.

In Normandy Fred painted or fished. If the caged bird - for him the symbol of contented domesticity - had a natural rival it was the wild trout of the Touques or the Risele. Sadie became an active participant in the life of the town where their farm was situated. At the Normandy house, called La Beauvairie, and commemorated in the artist's 'My Home in Normandy.'

There had never been a time when Frieseke did not turn serious attention to landscape. His protracted study of the Luxembourg Gardens in the spring of 1901 had led directly to the Brittany landscapes of that summer. In Giverny he had done 'pure' landscapes without figure) representing that specific countryside, but Macbeth could do nothing with them and tended not to show them.  

Whether outdoors or in his studio the painter was entranced by the change of light and atmosphere in Normandy. Unlike the sunny, dry Giverny climate that reveals brilliant and distinct colors, the Normandy microclimate is moist, unpredictable, and frequently wild, with brilliant sun often eclipsed by wind and rain. The fertile landscape presents a bewildering range of absorbent greens, with only the most subtle color shifts. This landscape fascinated Frieseke. He was also intrigued, no doubt, by his new position as proprietor of a working farm. During the 1920s he returned to it frequently, working either in the orchards and pastures below his home or in the extensive gardens Sadie designed and supervised above it."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Frederick Carl Frieseke: A Biography by Nicholas Kilmer" in Frederick Carl Frieseke: The Evolution of an American Impressionist"published on the occasion of an exhibition of Frieseke's work.) 

 

 

Frederick Carl Frieseke: Normandy and Frances

"The Artist's Daughter" by Frederick Carl Frieseke

"As his career progressed Frederick Carl Frieseke did not hesitate to follow his innate sense of how his craft must develop. His manner and approach would become progressively more meditative and deliberate, his production less. He wrote Macbeth:

'My present method of painting allows me to produce very few pictures as compared with that I turned out previously. You will have to explain to your customers that these pictures take five to six times as long to paint as previous ones, and I consider them far more complete as works of art.'

There were other changes at work as well. In 1919 the Friesekes decided to shift their summer quarters. They had become friendly with the Philadelphian George Biddle, who had painted with Fred in Giverny during the summers of 1915 and 1916. In September 1919 Fred wrote to George, 

'We have been trying to find a place in Normandy to buy. Hard to  find what we want and the troubled times here make us doubtful if it's wise to buy at all... Giverny has been quite gay this summer. Louis [Ritman] is installed in Miss Wheeler's house with his model [Gaby]. Waldo Pierce, with Jeanne Savoy, is living in the little house next to the farm...'

Though the Friesekes often said that their reason for taking a place in Normandy was the fishing, undoubtedly they had also concluded that Giverny was no place to bring up a little girl. Once they had purchased the Normandy property in 1919, Frieseke began the series of landscapes and the clothed figures - many of them portraits - that would occupy him for the remainder of his life. As Frances grew older, she became more and more his preferred subject.

From the very beginning the Friesekes had never been at ease about their daughter's health. Her birth followed a difficult pregnancy, and her infancy was threatened from the outset by her parents' unwitting use of a criminally adulterated baby formula to which formaldehyde had been added as a preservative. For much of her youth, and until her marriage in 1937, Frances was considered to be either an invalid or at grave risk. Though she occasionally attended schools for brief periods, as the Friesekes moved back and forth from Paris to Normandy, for the most part her education relied on tutors and governesses."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Frederick Carl Frieseke: A Biography by Nicholas Kilmer" in Frederick Carl Frieseke: The Evolution of an American Impressionist"published on the occasion of an exhibition of Frieseke's work.) 

Frederick Carl Frieseke: "Peace"

"Peace" by Frederick Carl Frieseke

"The war progressed, and Fred and Sadie Frieseke continued the routines of life and work in Paris and Giverny, wintering in the south of France between October 1917 and the spring of 1918. Among the paintings sent to Macbeth in the fall of 1917 was one whose title, 'Peace,' given the context of the World War during which it was composed, suggests more than a passing consideration for the metaphorical significance of its subject. It represents what we read as a mother seated in the nursery, sewing, next to her child's cradle. It is as domestic a subject as may be imagined. The model is Louise, a native of Giverny who posed frequently for Frieseke at this time, and the cradle was that of Frieseke's daughter, who had long outgrown it. The message of the painting's title was not lost on its American audience when it was shown in 1918. One reporter observed:

 'Woman as the hope and consolation of the race is the basic thought of Frieseke's 'Peace'... Altogether, the picture is full of hope for a new generation that shall not be obsessed by frightfulness... Frieseke's picture evokes a vision of the time forecast in the words of the prophet Micah, 'And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift a sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more.'

Very likely the painting's title was Sadie's contribution since she assisted when a shipment of paintings must be given titles. An earlier or preparatory version of the subject was called simply 'In the Nursery.' Whatever the painter's intention, and however the title came about, we can only applaud the happy coincidence of the painter's craft and the journalist's reading." 

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Frederick Carl Frieseke: A Biography by Nicholas Kilmer" in Frederick Carl Frieseke: The Evolution of an American Impressionist"published on the occasion of an exhibition of Frieseke's work.) 

 

Frederick Carl Frieseke: The War

"The Parrots" by Frederick Carl Frieseke

"Of the American painters in France, most had already returned home once war appeared inevitable, and others followed suit when war broke out. The Friesekes, however, hunkered down. As Frieseke wrote Macbeth: 'You see we are still staying by the flag. Things were sufficiently exciting with aeroplanes dropping bombs. We are provisioned for a six months' siege. I couldn't stand leaving Paris after the years I've lived here. Seemed like running away.'

Far from running away, he volunteered to serve with the American Red Cross ambulance service at Neuilly, outside Paris, an activity that lasted five months. He was no longer working in the hospital, he told Macbeth in a letter of February 1, 1915, because there were fewer wounded being sent to Paris. 'Am working hard in spite of the war - in fact find work the only relief from the sadness of it all.'

The painting continued in Paris and, with good weather, in Giverny also. The Paris Salons had been closed down on account of the war. It was next to impossible to ship work, and Frieseke had sent much of his stock to England for safekeeping. However, he was able to put together a striking representation for the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, which opened in June 1915. Here Frieseke was awarded the grand prize and gold medal for his entries, notable among them the nude 'Summer,' painted in 1914, an especially fruitful year for him. That season he produced a series of large, successful figure pieces, nude and clothed, single and in groups, that suggest singular energy, sufficient finances for material and frames, and plenty of working space. His 1915 presentation in San Francisco won him critical acclaim. His success was accompanied by sales sufficient to lead him into an unusual arrogance in defense of one of his preferred subjects. In a letter of late October 1915, he wrote Macbeth: 'You may find too many nudes among my last shipment. But one cannot paint for the public entirely and as over here my reputation is chiefly with my nudes I see no reason why the American public should not recognize it.'

However, his primary concern was not with subject matter as he wrote: 'I should have explained before what I am aiming at in my work, which has [for] a number of years been constant - experimenting to attain the priority of color and truth of light effect.'"

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Frederick Carl Frieseke: A Biography by Nicholas Kilmer" in Frederick Carl Frieseke: The Evolution of an American Impressionist"published on the occasion of an exhibition of Frieseke's work.)  

Frederick Carl Frieseke: France and Corsica

"Before Her Appearance (La Toilette)"
by Frederick Carl Frieseke

"Frederick and Sadie Freieseke returned to France in February. Aside from a very brief visit to New York and Pittsburgh at the end of 1928, this would be the last Frieseke was to see of his native country. The couple spent a particularly rainy summer in Giverny, but as Frieseke wrote to a friend: 'I managed to do a good season's work in spite of it and think I can put up a better show than last year.' Having created his summer's work (he complained it took two days to think of titles) and sent it to New York, Fred packed himself and Sadie off to Corsica for the winter months. 

Here, once they had found a house and garden to their liking, they set up shop and Frieseke sent for his model, Marcelle. She would figure in the six large canvases to be exhibited in the 1913 Salon of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. After the miserable Giverny summer, the Corsican weather was an improvement. Even in February, Marcelle was able to pose naked on the beach, while Fred painted 'On the Dunes,' and Sadie watched from the distance to warn them of approaching tourists.

By the end of 1913 the Friesekes felt sufficiently stable economically to purchase the apartment on the rue du Cherche Midi. There had been sales in the United States. The arrangement with Wanamaker whereby he purchased a regular number of pictures annually was still in force, and Mrs. H.P. Whitney purchased the largest of Frieseke's Salon pictures, 'Before Her Appearance (La Toilette)' for $2500. Thus the Friesekes could afford to think of expanding into real estate. 

Besides, at the end of 1913, Sadie was pregnant. There had been other pregnancies that ended in disappointment, but this one was successful. In a world that was preoccupied by the parade of implacable forces whose posturing and ultimatums would lead to war, Sadie and Fred nursed a more loving hope. Frances, their only child, was born in Paris on August 2, 1914, as France mobilized for war against Germany. Fred had been in Giverny, but he managed to get the last civilian train to Paris."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Frederick Carl Frieseke: A Biography by Nicholas Kilmer" in Frederick Carl Frieseke: The Evolution of an American Impressionist"published on the occasion of an exhibition of Frieseke's work.) 

 

Frederick Carl Frieseke: The Macbeths

"On the Balcony" by Frederick Carl Frieseke

"Frederick Carl Frieseke could not have found better friends in America than William and Robert Macbeth, the most successful and influential of the New York art dealers. The Macbeths carried an impressive array of talent, groomed their artists assiduously, and talked turkey. They could also sell pictures. Working with Macbeth, Frieseke prepared a one-artist exhibition that opened on January 17, 1912. Fred and Sadie were on hand for the opening. Though normally reticent, impatient, and not forthcoming when it came to talking about his work Frieseke gave an interview, to an as-yet-unidentified reporter in New York, which seems to represent a fair sense of the way he thought about his painting:

'He considers his problem at present to be 'light and color and sunshine.' All the paintings in the exhibition displayed the main tenets of his art principles, namely 'that painting is not theoretical, but a matter of enthusiasm.' He makes no previous sketches for his work, but takes the inspiration for his work straight to his canvas, and apprehending nature as a system of green and blue, not of brown, he demonstrates a fearless use of colors, fresh and pure, and avoids mixing white in anything. 'Most artists,' he says, 'are afraid of green,' and to prove his emancipation he uses all colors with utter fearlessness and boldness, and by this madness has won his way to eminence. Drawing he considers the A B C of painting. His detail is sufficient and comprehensive, but it does not take his first attention, for, 'if you have a human being on your canvas,' he says, 'your interest is there, and not on a dish or a material.' And for his future, his belief that it is impossible for an artist to be satisfied with his work unless he is by nature self-complacent, and that he must go on experimenting, in fact must be dissatisfied in order that he may approach his goal, will doubtless lead him to greater things than he has even yet accomplished. 'No artist,' he says, 'should be bound to one style,' so just what his development will be it is almost impossible to tell.'" 

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Frederick Carl Frieseke: A Biography by Nicholas Kilmer" in Frederick Carl Frieseke: The Evolution of an American Impressionist"published on the occasion of an exhibition of Frieseke's work.) 

 

Frederick Carl Frieseke: Associations

"The Garden Parasol" by Frederick Carl Frieseke

"The Friesekes and the Richard Miller and his wife were fast friends. Miller, who had arrived in Paris shortly after Fred, was well connected in America, achieved European success quite early, and showed generous admiration for Fred's work. Invited to fill a room at the Venice Biennial in 1909 with his own paintings, he offered to share the space with Fred.

It is at the Eighth International Exhibition in Venice in April-May 1909 that we find the first important offering of outdoor subjects by Frieseke. Here were some of the major plein air themes that would come to be associated with his summer work during the next decade: the woman in the garden, the nude sunbather, and the woman in a boat in shadowy water. 

As he turned his attention to the out of doors and thus subjected himself to a far-from-controlled environment, Frieseke remained the methodical and meticulous painter who had trained under Whistler. The 1910 portrait by Karl Anderson shows Frieseke in bow tie, smock, and Panama hat, painting a nude outdoors. He holds the same array of brushes as he might have in the academy, one brush set aside for each of the colors that had been mixed beforehand.

Frieseke had known Karl Anderson when both were students at the Art Institute of Chicago, and both had traveled in Holland in the summer of 1898. They renewed their friendship, traveling together with Richard Miller in Venice and Florence in 1909. Anderson spent time in Giverny in both 1909 and 1910. He became one of the so-called Giverny luminists who exhibited together at Henry Fitch Taylor's Madison Art Gallery in December 1910. 

For Frieseke's career, this first venture into the commercial world of New York was of crucial importance, and as a result he came to the notice of William and Robert Macbeth, the most successful and influential of the New York dealers."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Frederick Carl Frieseke: A Biography by Nicholas Kilmer" in Frederick Carl Frieseke: The Evolution of an American Impressionist"published on the occasion of an exhibition of Frieseke's work.)