Frank Mura (born 17 July 1861) was a French-born American painter and water colourist who also worked in

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...

and pencil. His work includes landscapes, buildings, marine settings, human subjects and animals. He was noted for his charcoal painting technique.

Life and works

Born in Alsace in 1861, Mura's family settled in New York City when he was a child and he became a naturalised American. The family home was in Manhattan and his father's occupation was listed in the census as a feather dealer. He returned to Europe in 1881 and studied in Munich. During this period, some of his paintings were purchased by a wealthy New York collector, Ichabod T. Williams, which enabled him to pay an overdue account with his landlady and continue with his studies, his father having ceased his allowance. He also studied in the Netherlands. Mura settled in London in 1891 and married the German-born painter Charlotte Poehlmann on 4 April 1894 in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

. He created a series of oil paintings of London life, including Billingsgate Fishmarket (Studio Magazine) . They moved to Mill End studio, Little Easton, Dunmow, and had one daughter, Margaret Mura, born c.1902. In 1911, the Muras were living at Myrtle Cottage, Sompting, Sussex. Mura remained in London until 1915, painting and teaching. He contributed work to The Dome and exhibited at the Goupil Gallery and the Obach and Co. Gallery. He exhibited alongside James Abbott McNeill Whistler at the NEAC in 1903, and his ''Landscape with Sheep'' was exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

in 1904. His work was exhibited at the Louisiana Purchase Expo

St. Louis World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 milli ...

in 1904 and received the highest award for charcoal painting. In 1907 the Obach Gallery exhibited a collection of his pictures and charcoal drawings. A review in The Studio commented: "Mr. Mura successfully imparts the true feeling for English landscape in a style which has benefited much from the study of the Barbizon and Dutch masters." An essay on his work by

A. L. Baldry Alfred Lys Baldry (1858 – 18 May 1939) was an English art critic and painter. He was born in Torquay, Devon, the son of Alfred Baldry and Charlotte Whitehead. Baldry studied at the University of Oxford and the Royal College of Art, and as a p ...

was published in ''The Studio'' in London in 1913. Mura then settled in Brooklyn, New York, where he made his name in American artistic circles. He exhibited 11 charcoal drawings at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition of 1915 which won a Medal of Honour. During the 1920s and 30s, he was a guide and instructor at 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 ...

, directing a Saturday class for talented high school students. The museum holds a collection of his pencil drawings from 1919 onwards. Two of his English landscape paintings, ''Upton Lane, Sompting'' and ''The Adur, near Shoreham'', are held in the University of Michigan Museum of Art.

References

External links

* Rootsweb: Frank Mur

* AskArt: Frank Mur

* Artnet: Frank Mur

* University of Michigan Museum of Art: Frank Mur

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mura, Frank 1861 births People from Alsace 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists American male painters 20th-century American painters Year of death missing Painters from Alsace French emigrants to the United States People from Uttlesford (district) People from Sompting 20th-century American male artists