Francis Chapin

Colorful, 1930s American Scene Painting "House with Gable" by Francis Chapin

ca. 1935

A Vibrant, 1930s Chicago City Street Scene of the Old Town Neighborhood by Notable Chicago Modern Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Depicting a colorful, blustery, autumn view...

A large & delightful oil on Masonite, ca. 1950s, Martha's Vineyard street scene painting by artist Francis Chapin. Image size: 24" x 36". Framed size: 27" x 37". In a painted woo...

A Charming 1950s Mid-Century Modern Harbor Scene of Martha's Vineyard by Notable Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Completed near the artist's studio and summer home in the historic whaling port town of Edgartown, Massachusetts; a cheerful, diminutive painting of a busy sunlit boat dock. Artwork size: 8 3/4" x 11 3/4". Framed size: 12 1/2" x 15 1/2". Estate stepped on reverse. Provenance: Estate of the artist. Francis Chapin, affectionately called the “Dean of Chicago Painters” by his colleagues, was one of the city’s most popular and celebrated painters in his day. Born at the dawn of the 20th Century in Bristolville, Ohio, Chapin graduated from Washington & Jefferson College near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania before enrolling at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1922. He would set down deep roots at the Art Institute of Chicago, exhibiting there over 31 times between 1926 and 1951. In 1927 Chapin won the prestigious Bryan Lathrop Fellowship from the Art Institute – a prize that funded the artist’s yearlong study trip to Europe. Upon his return to the United States, Chapin decided to remain in Chicago, noting the freedom Chicago artists have in developing independently of the pressure to conform to pre-existing molds (as was experienced by artists in New York, for example). Chapin became a popular instructor at the Art Institute, teaching there from 1929 to 1947 and at the Art Institute’s summer art school in Saugatuck, Michigan (now called Oxbow) between 1934 – 1938 (he was the director of the school from 1941-1945). A prolific painter, Chapin produced numerous works while traveling in Mexico, France, Spain, Saugatuck and Martha’s Vineyard, where he frequently spent summers and taught at the Old Sculpin Gallery there. Chapin was best recognized for his dynamic and vibrant images of Chicago during the 1930s and 40s. Chapin was a resident of the Old Town neighborhood where he lived and kept his studio on Menomonee Street for many years. Described as a “colorful figure, nearly 6 feet 6 inches tall, and thin, and usually wearing tweeds”, it is easy to imagine Chapin at work observing the busy street life of the city. In addition to his many exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chapin’s work was shown during his lifetime at such institutions as the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia; the Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C.; the National Academy of Design, New York; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, among others. Francis Chapin’s paintings are represented in the collections the Art Institute of Chicago; the Friedman Collection, Chicago; the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown; the Denver Art Museum; the Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse; the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach...

A picturesque ca. 1940s, horizontal farm scene with a barn & silo, created in oil on Masonite, by Artist Francis Chapin. Painting likely depicts Wisconsin or Michigan. Painting is ...

A vintage home and garden in bloom is beautifully captured in this watercolor by Monterey Bay Artist artist Diane Baldwin (American, 20th century). Signe...

Mid Century fauvist style landscape of California Gold Country home by an unknown artist (American, 20th Century) c.1960. Unsigned. Presented in ru...

1930's watercolor figurative landscape depicting the First Church of Christ Congregational in Milford, Connecticut by J. Nolan of Providence, Rhode Island (American, 20th Century). S...

Provenance Acquired by American Legacy Fine Arts from a Los Angeles collector who acquired the painting directly from the Timkov Family in Russia. UNFRAMED: 6.75" x 9.88" FRAMED: 12...