Frank Henry Schwarz (21 June 1894 – 5 September 1951) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

painter and muralist.

Biography

Schwarz was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on 21 June 1894. Later Schwarz's family lived in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. When Schwarz's mother died, his father, Frank, returned to New York City, but Schwarz stayed in Chicago to continue his studies at an art school there. Later he served in the Army. In 1921, he was awarded a fellowship in painting, the

Rome Prize The Rome Prize is awarded by the American Academy in Rome, in Rome, Italy. Approximately thirty scholars and artists are selected each year to receive a study fellowship at the academy. Prizes have been awarded annually since 1921, with a hiatus ...

, from the

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill) in Rome. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History In 1893, a group of American architects, ...

for his work "Heroism". The prize not only saved an ill Schwarz from eviction, it also allowed him to reunite with his father, who had lost touch with him for six years. Schwarz became a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

in Fine Arts in 1926. In 1929, the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...

purchased Schwarz's work "Lugietta". Several of Schwarz's murals decorate the 1938

Oregon State Capitol The Oregon State Capitol is the building housing the state legislature and the offices of the governor, secretary of state, and treasurer of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in the state capitol, Salem. Constructed from 1936 to 1938 ...

, including two large ones in the rotunda, one depicting

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Celilo Falls Celilo Falls (Wyam, meaning "echo of falling water" or "sound of water upon the rocks," in several native languages) was a tribal fishing area on the Columbia River, just east of the Cascade Mountains, on what is today the border between the U.S. ...

, and one depicting an 1843

wagon train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. It ...

: "On the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...

". Another of his murals is in the Senate chamber behind the Presidents's desk, "Bringing the News to Salem March 17, 1859", depicts the announcement of Oregon's statehood. Schwarz and the capitol's other muralist,

Barry Faulkner Barry Faulkner (full name: Francis Barrett Faulkner; July 12, 1881 – October 27, 1966) was an American artist primarily known for his murals. During World War I, he and sculptor Sherry Edmundson Fry organized artists for training as camouflage s ...

, painted their murals at Schwarz's New York studio where they could compare color and highlighting. The artists traveled to Oregon to supervise the installation of their work. Schwarz also painted the interior of the rotunda's cupola. Other works by Schwarz include the six

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

s above the main altar and the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

at the Church of the Ascension of Our Lord in Westmount, Quebec, Canada, and an altar

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...

, "The Adoration of the Peasants", in the Island Chapel at

Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary (known also as Naz Hall) was a Minor seminary, high school seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota serving the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. It wa ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

. The altarpiece was removed from the chapel when Nazareth Hall was sold to Northwestern College in 1970. Schwarz was a life member of the

National Arts Club The National Arts Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and members club on Gramercy Park, Manhattan, New York City. It was founded in 1898 by Charles DeKay, an art and literary critic of the ''New York Times'' to "stimulate, foster, and promote public ...

. He died in

Mount Vernon, New York Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. As of t ...

on 5 September 1951.

References

External links

Frank Schwarz
at Askart.com
Black and white images of Faulkner's and Schwarz's capitol murals
from Salem Public Library (includes an image of the artists)
Image of the mural in the Oregon Senate chambers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarz, Frank Henry 20th-century American painters American male painters American muralists 1894 births 1951 deaths Painters from Chicago Painters from New York City 20th-century American male artists