|
978-0-9713910-0-0
0-97313910-0-9
x 10
$34.95 hardcover
160 pages
80 color and 22 black-and-white photographs
Greenville (NC) Museum of Art
|
In
1938, the Magazine of Art, a monthly journal published by the
American Federation of Arts, carried a series of articles about
contemporary American artists. The essay about landscape painter Francis
Speight said, “All that he asks of life is the privilege to paint.”
Drawing from this quotation, the Greenville (NC) Museum of Art
has published an illustrated biography entitled The Privilege to
Paint that documents the lives and art of Francis Speight and his
equally talented wife, Sarah Blakeslee. The book will complement a
gallery at the museum that will be totally devoted to the works of this
couple.
Francis
Speight grew up in Bertie County, North Carolina, and taught painting
and drawing at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia
from 1925 until 1961. In 1936, he married Sarah Jane Blakeslee, who was
a student at the academy’s country school at Chester Springs. In 1961,
the couple moved to Greenville, North Carolina, where Francis became
artist-in-residence at East Carolina University and Sarah painted and
taught art classes. Francis painted primarily landscapes, while Sarah
painted landscapes, portraits, and still lifes. Both artists won
numerous awards for their work and have been honored with exhibitions in
both North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The state of North Carolina
honored Francis Speight in 1964 with its highest award given to an
artist, the North Carolina Award in Fine Arts. This was the first year
the award was given. Thirty years later, it honored Sarah Blakeslee with
the same award.
This
book features 102 images of their paintings, 80 of which are in full
color. From landscapes of Pennsylvania and North Carolina to portraits
and still lifes, their paintings capture the essence of their subjects.
This is a story of two kindred spirits and a celebration of their love
of painting.
about
the author
Maurice
C. York is North Carolina Librarian at J. Y. Joyner Library at East
Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He is a personal
friend of the Speight family. Francis Speight died in 1989. In 1998,
Sarah Blakeslee moved to the Germantown section of Philadelphia to be
closer to their daughter, who is an art conservator. Sarah continues to
paint.
|
