Frederic James (1915–1985) was an American painter who specialized in watercolors. He was associated with the Regionalist art movement.

Early life

Frederic James was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1915. His father was master of the

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...

yards. James showed an early talent for painting, and in 1934, the

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, known for its encyclopedic collection of art from nearly every continent and culture, and especially for its extensive collection of Asian art. In 2007, ''Time'' magaz ...

in Kansas City accepted one of his watercolors for their Midwestern Exhibition. James attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and majored in architecture. Upon his graduation, he was awarded an architecture scholarship to the

Cranbrook Academy of Art The Cranbrook Educational Community is an education, research, and public museum complex in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This National Historic Landmark was founded in the early 20th century by newspaper mogul George Gough Booth. It consists of C ...

, where he was close friends with

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the General Motors ...

Ralph Rapson Ralph Rapson (September 13, 1914 – March 29, 2008) was Head of the School of Architecture at the University of Minnesota for 30 years. He was one of the world's oldest practicing architects at his death at age 93, and also one of the most ...

, and

Charles and Ray Eames Charles Eames ( Charles Eames, Jr) and Ray Eames ( Ray-Bernice Eames) were an American married couple of industrial designers who made significant historical contributions to the development of modern architecture and furniture through the work of ...

. Working in a partnership with Saarinen and Rapson, he won a national competition, sponsored by the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, to design a national theater in

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...

, beating out, among others, Philip S. Goodwin and

Edward Durrell Stone Edward Durell Stone (March 9, 1902 – August 6, 1978) was an American architect known for the formal, highly decorative buildings he designed in the 1950s and 1960s. His works include the Museum of Modern Art, in New York City, the Museo de A ...

. Despite his talent, architecture was not James' passion, and the only building he ever designed and built was his home in Kansas City.

Art career

In 1939, he returned to Kansas City and dedicated himself to becoming a painter. That year, he won the watercolor prize competition at the

Kansas City Art Institute The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) is a private art school in Kansas City, Missouri. The college was founded in 1885 and is an accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and Higher Learning Commission. It has approx ...

. His career quickly gained momentum. In 1940, he had a piece accepted for the International Exhibition of Watercolors at the Art Institute of Chicago and won the Friends of Art Purchase Prize in the Midwestern Artists Exhibition of the Kansas City Art Institute. The Art Institute immediately hired him to teach watercolor classes, and James began a close association with fellow teacher and famed Regionalist artist Thomas Hart Benton. Benton selected 15 of James’ watercolors to be included in a widely publicized exhibition of his students’ work that was held at the Associated American Artists Gallery in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in November 1940. James’ art career was put on hold by World War II. He enlisted and was assigned first to

Fort Leonard Wood Fort Leonard Wood is a U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of The City of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard W ...

and later to Brazil, never seeing the European or Pacific Theaters of War. Following the war, James returned to Kansas City and resumed his painting and teaching career at the Art Institute. In 1947, he married Diana Hearne. James had vacationed at Martha's Vineyard with Benton’s family for a few years, and James soon purchased a second home on Martha's Vineyard as well. He also gave up his teaching position to concentrate on painting, and his reputation continued to expand, winning the Purchase Award at the Mid-America Annual Art Show in 1951 and holding a well-received one-man show at the Associated American Artists Gallery in New York in 1952. In 1954, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art held an exhibition of his work in their main loan gallery. After the mid-1950s, James lost interest in promoting his work on a national stage, but he continued his prolific output, producing many watercolors of rural Missouri and Kansas, especially the

Flint Hills The Flint Hills, historically known as Bluestem Pastures or Blue Stem Hills, are a region in eastern Kansas and north-central Oklahoma named for the abundant residual flint eroded from the bedrock that lies near or at the surface. It consists of ...

of Kansas. In addition to his watercolors, James did murals for the Trinity Lutheran Church in Mission, Kansas; the Overland Park State Bank, and the Kansas and Consumer's Coop Association. He also completed a wild flower series of prints of the New York Botanical Garden. He died in 1985.

References

Sources

* Frederic James: A Painter from Kansas City. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City. Henry Adams. 1986. * Frederic James: The Early Years, 1935-1955. Thomas McCormack Works of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1992. * The Artists Bluebook. Lonnie Pierson Dunbar, editor. March 2005. * Under the Influence: The Students of Thomas Hart Benton. Marianne Berardi. The Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art. 1993 * Davenport's Art Reference. Ray Davenport. 2005. * Who Was Who in American Art. Peter Hastings Falk (editor). 1999 * American Drawings and Watercolors from the Kansas City Region. Henry Adams. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City. 1992. * The Annual Exhibition Record of the Art Institute of Chicago. Peter Hastings Falk. 1990. * The Society of Independent Artists Exhibition Record, 1917-1944. 1984. * Missouri, Heart of the Nation: Pictorial Record of Fourteen Artists. Charles Ravensway. 1947. * Kansas City Regional Art. Associated American Artists. New York. 1940 {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Frederic 1915 births 1985 deaths Artists from Kansas City, Missouri 20th-century American painters American male painters Modern painters University of Michigan alumni Cranbrook Academy of Art alumni Kansas City Art Institute alumni 20th-century American printmakers 20th-century American male artists