Frances Cranmer Greenman (June 28, 1890 – May 24, 1981) was an American portrait painter, critic and columnist.

Early life and education

Frances Willard Cranmer was born on June 28, 1890, in a log cabin in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Her parents were Hon. Simeon Harris Cranmer, and the suffragist, Emma Amelia Cranmer. She was named for suffragist Frances Willard. At 15, she attended the Wisconsin Academy of Art. At 16, she attended the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. In the 1900s, she studied with William Merritt Chase and Robert Henri in New York City. She won a gold medal from Corcoran in 1908.

Career

She moved to Minneapolis in the 1910s. She had her first major exhibition in 1913 at the

Handicraft Guild The Handicraft Guild was an organization central to Arts and Crafts movement active in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, from 1904 to 1918. The Handicraft guild was founded, led, and staffed primarily by women, making it historically significa ...

. She went back to New York for several years before settling at the Hampshire Arms Hotel. Her permanent studio was on the fifth floor of the building and was painted completely black for her portraiture. She was awarded a gold medal at the 1915 Minnesota State Fair for a group of three portraits. Greenman was an established society painter in Minneapolis by the early 1920s and made portraits for Hollywood stars, politicians and socialites. Her 1921 exhibition at the Bradstreet Gallery in Minneapolis was described in ''American Art News'' as "alternately gay and serious, prismatic and tonal." Greenman was awarded first prize in painting at the seventh and eighth annual exhibitions of Twin City Artists. Her portrait ''Jane'' won the prize for the eighth exhibition in 1922. Greenman was replaced as a judge during the 1925 Iowa State Fair's Art Salon due to her modernist inclinations. Painter and exhibit head Charles Atherton Cumming postponed the art judging, first claiming that Greenman was ill. Greenman herself disputed this and Cumming went on to describe how she had been "converted to what she calls 'modern' art since I last viewed her exhibit." He explained that Iowa artists were "followers of 'white man's art'" and Greenman was replaced by one

J. Laurie Wallace John Laurie Wallace (1863 – 30 June 1953) was an Irish-born American painter. Wallace was born in Garvagh, County Londonderry, Ireland in 1863. His family immigrated to the United States when he was four years old. He studied under Thoma ...

. Following the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Greenman left New York and supported her family by painting portraits for wealthy clients. Greenman taught at the Minneapolis School of Art from 1941 to 1943. She also taught at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

. Her style was bold and informed by modernism. Her painting ''Pink Lotus'' depicted one David Painter and in a severe, flattened, and unflattering manner. While her earlier portraits were more adventurous, they became more conservative and conventional over time. Her 1922 work ''A Moment's Rest for Mrs. Hoscovics'' and her portraits of Polish immigrants in Wisconsin show that Greenman wanted to use her art to explore social issues. Greenman painted portraits of many famous people, including conductor

Emil Oberhoffer Emil Oberhoffer (10 August 186722 May 1933) was a German-born American conductor and minor composer. He founded the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (now known as the Minnesota Orchestra), and was its conductor for the first 19 years of its existe ...

Dolores del Río María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López Negrete (3 August 1904 – 11 April 1983), known professionally as Dolores del Río (), was a Mexican actress. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is regarded as the first major female Latin Am ...

, and Mary Pickford. She painted the official governor's portrait of Karl Rolvaag. It is hung in the Minnesota State Capitol. She wrote her autobiography, ''Higher Than the Sky'' in 1954. She also worked for the ''Minneapolis Sunday Tribune'' as a critic, writing the art column "Frances Greenman Says".

Death

Greenman died in Medina, Minnesota, on May 24, 1981.

Early life and education

Career

Death

References

Further reading