Frederick Carl Frieseke

Frederick Carl Frieseke was an American Impressionist painter notable for his richly patterned depictions of women, which often featured dappled light and an expressive use of color. In his youth, Frieseke was fascinated by the arts; after graduating from high school in Owosso, Michigan, he enrolled in the Art Institute of Chicago and later the Art Students League in New York. In 1898, Frieseke traveled to France to study at the Academie Julian. In Paris, Frieseke had brief contact with James Abbott McNeill Whistler and became enamored with French Impressionism.

By 1900, Frieseke began spending summers in Giverny, France, a countryside town famous for its association with Claude Monet. In 1906, he leased the former house of American Impressionist Theodore Robinson, which was adjacent to Monet’s estate. The home had a “beautiful old garden, running riot with flowers, vines and trees” (William H. Gerdts, Monet’s Giverny: An Impressionist Colony, New York, 1993, p. 173). In this idyllic setting, he painted scenes of leisure– often women sunbathing, gardening, and taking tea. He and his wife, Sarah Ann O’Bryan, spent the summers there until 1919. Frieseke was an expatriate for the remainder of his life, maintaining ties to the states via his New York dealer William MacBeth of Macbeth Galleries.

Frieseke's early work was rigidly figural, influenced by years of academic training and the close tonalities of Whistler. Gradually, his brushwork loosened and his colors brightened, evolving into the Impressionist works for which he is best known. At his career peak, he was among the most popular living American artists. His art was widely acclaimed, winning numerous awards including a 1904 gold medal in Munich and Grand Prize at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915. Frieseke was elected an Academician of the National Academy of Design in 1912 and decorated a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour in 1920. Although Frieseke's critical recognition declined slightly after World War I as tastes shifted towards Modernist works, he remained exceptionally popular with the larger public. Frieseke continued to paint, maturing into a realistic, contemplative style.

The artist passed away on August 24, 1939 in his Normandy home, in the town of Le Mesnil sur Blangy. His works can be found worldwide in major private and public collections, including the National Gallery of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, and the Modern Gallery in Venice, Italy.