Signed 1962 W. Draper Painting in Brittany, France

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Antiquities | Asian | Ethnographic Art

By Artemis Gallery

Sep 10, 2020

Set Reminder 2020-09-10 10:00:00 2020-09-10 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Antiquities | Asian | Ethnographic Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/antiquities-asian-ethnographic-art-5546
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• Lot Description
  William Franklin Draper (American, 1912-2003). "Hey! That's my composition." Oil on canvas, 1962. Signed lower right. Painted by William Draper at Rochefort-en-Terre, Brittany, France - this composition features Draper along with his family members painting the medieval chateaus of this village that has been designated as a "Petite Cite de Caractere". The Drapers were visiting American ex-patriate artist Trafford Klots (1913-1976) who had inherited a chateau that belonged to his father, American painter Alfred Klots, who had purchased it in the early 20th century, had it restored, and established an art colony. Trafford enjoyed inviting Draper and other artist friends to his home to paint the scenery of this medieval village. The declaration painted in white at the upper left - "Hey! That's my composition." -reflects Klots' cheeky commentary that Draper and his family were stealing the compositions that Klots enjoyed painting! Size: 43.5" W x 27.5" H (110.5 cm x 69.8 cm); 45" W x 28.75" H (114.3 cm x 73 cm) framed
  
  William Draper's career spanned seven decades and his subjects included a portrait of John F. Kennedy that hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. based upon an oil sketch for which the president sat in 1962. Draper was actually the only artist who painted JFK from life. Draper showed at Knoedler, the Graham Gallery, Portraits, Inc., the Far Gallery, The Findlay Galleries (New York, NY) and the Robert C. Vose Galleries (Boston, MA). His work has been included in shows at the National Portrait Gallery and the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.), The National Academy of Design (New York, NY), The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, (Boston, MA) the Fogg Art Museum, (one of the Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA), the National Gallery, (London), Salon de la Marine (Paris) and in museums in Australia. He also taught at the Art Students League of New York, and received a lifetime achievement award from the Portrait Society of America in 1999.
  
  More on the artist's background: William Franklin Draper was born in Hopedale, Massachusetts on December 24, 1912. A child prodigy, he studied classical piano at Harvard University. He later changed his focus to fine art and studied with Charles Webster Hawthorne and Henry Hensche in Provincetown, Rhode Island. Draper also attended the National Academy of Design in New York and the Cape Cod School of Art in Massachusetts. Then he traveled to Spain and studied with Harry Zimmerman, moved on to France and attended the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere. In 1937, he moved to Boston to study sculpture with George Demetrius and also studied with Jon Corbino in beautiful Rockport, Massachusetts. In 1942, Draper joined the Navy and served as a combat artist when stationed on the Aleutian Islands and in the South Pacific. He observed and painted battle scenes on Bougainville, Guam, Saipan, and other locations, as well as genre scenes of soldiers who were not engaged in combat but rather at work and at play. National Geographic magazine reproduced 25 of his war images in four issues in 1944. In 1945, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. organized a group exhibition of works by five official war artists, including Draper. That same year the Metropolitan Museum of Art included Draper in an exhibition entitled, ''The War Against Japan.'' Draper was also featured in a PBS television show about combat artists entitled, "They Drew Fire" in May of 2000. After the war, Draper opened a studio on Park Avenue in New York City and continued to not only paint, but also play classical and jazz piano.
  
  In 1987, the French government purchased the Chateau of Rochefort-en-Terre that had belonged to the Klots family. Following Traford Klots' death in 1989, his wife established the Alfred & Trafford Klots Artist Residency Program. The program is now administered through the Maryland Institute College of Art. In May of 2007, the Maryland Institute College of Art hosted an exhibition that featured participants in the artist residency program of Chateau Rochefort en Terre.
  
  Provenance: The William F. Draper Collection, New York City, USA, acquired via descent from the late William Franklin Draper (1912-2003), an accomplished American artist whose career spanned seven decades. Known as the "Dean of American Portraiture," William Draper was the only artist to paint President John F. Kennedy from life, and his oeuvre includes marvelous landscapes from his world travels, military paintings as he was one of only seventeen Combat Artists in WWII, and portraits of illustrious individuals.
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
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  #152541

  Condition

  Signed "Wm. F. Draper" on the lower right. Fun quote painted in white at upper left, "Hey! That's my composition." Black paint splatters on verso that in no way interfere with the painted composition. Overall excellent.
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