Ch. 4 - France/Europe

France/Europe

“I found that my drawing aroused as much approval among Parisian and foreign students as at home. This was a great boost to my spirits after suffering the first weeks of homesickness. Paris soon ceased to be the unpaintable overpowering mystery and became real enough to draw tangibly.”

Skinny Dipping in the Seine, Paris, France

1925 Oil on canvas Signed and dated lower right 25 x 31 inches 31.5 x 37.5 inches, as framed Exhibited: 122nd Annual Exhibition of Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts,1927; Cleveland Society of Artists Exhibition of Fine Arts, 1930.

See page 101

“Even fits of homesickness have a value to the painter, for then what he sees is haunting and sharp in his memory.”

“The idea of going to Paris did not occur to me at once - nor was it my own idea. This came late the following summer after studying at Berlin Heights. It was the idea of Cousin Winona Payne who wished me to accompany her son Kenneth Payne, only slightly younger than me. He was going to the Sorbonne to prepare for a career as a writer.”

102 Gibraltar from the Ship, Southern Spain

c. 1910-11 Watercolor on paper Monogram lower left 9.25 x 13 inches

103 Chateaubrand from Plage St. Malo, France

c. 1911 Watercolor on paper mounted on board Signed lower right 9.5 x 13 inches

104 Venetian Canal

c. 1910-11 Tempera on board Signed lower right 24 x 30 inches

“Kenneth and I took a long walking trip around the coast of Brittany and up the Loire. Incessant work increased my stock of material and quickened the power to describe what we saw – suffice it to say we drank in a full draft of romance on this trip through the towns and fields of the old provinces... For some reason I remember Karnac in Brittany very clearly – probable a foretaste of a coming interest in archeology.”

105 Kenneth at Carnac, Brittany, France

1911 Watercolor and graphite on paper Monogram lower right 13 x 9.25 inches Exhibited: “A Buckeye Abroad: Frank Wilcox in Paris 1910-1926” from August 24, 2013-January 5, 2014 at The Dayton Art Institute

106 Boats at Concarneau, France

c. 1910-11 Watercolor and graphite on paper Monogram lower right 13 x 9.5 inches Exhibited: “A Buckeye Abroad: Frank Wilcox in Paris 1910-1926” from August 24, 2013-January 5, 2014 at The Dayton Art Institute

107 Beach at Carnac, Brittany, France

1911 Watercolor on paper Monogram lower right 13 x 9.25 inches Exhibited: “A Buckeye Abroad: Frank Wilcox in Paris 1910-1926” from August 24, 2013-January 5, 2014 at The Dayton Art Institute

“When in Europe, I use to offset homesickness by thinking of the rural peace of Brecksville and Berlin Heights - by thinking of the rolling hills, winding roads, quiet farmsteads and pastures with grazing horses and cattle. I often longed to wonder freely in open country with no limits set to errant feet.”

108 Tour St. Germain L’Auxerrois, Paris, France

c. 1910-11 Watercolor on paper 18 x 24.5 inches 25.5 x 31 inches, as framed

“I believe I saw Paris at a golden period. There was as yet no hint of coming warfare, and the automotive vehicle had not yet done away with much picturesque traffic.” Before leaving, he exhibited in the Spring Salon of 1911, an accolade he was able to use to his successful benefit when he returned to Cleveland.

109 Sundown in Luxembourg

1910 Watercolor and graphite on paper Signed lower right 14 x 18 inches 26 x 29 inches, as framed Exhibited: “A Buckeye Abroad: Frank Wilcox in Paris 1910-1926” from August 24, 2013-January 5, 2014 at The Dayton Art Institute

110 Children Playing, Luxembourg

c. 1910 Conté crayon on paper 16.25 x 19.75 inches

111 Mattress Renovators, Pont Neuf, Paris, France,

c. 1910 Watercolor and graphite on paper Monogram lower right 9.75 x 14 inches 17.25 x 21 inches, as framed Exhibited: “A Buckeye Abroad: Frank Wilcox in Paris 1910-1926” from August 24, 2013-January 5, 2014 at The Dayton Art Institute

112 The Fort at Meudon

1911 Watercolor and graphite on paper Monogram lower right 9 x 13 inches 17 x 21 inches, as framed

“It was moody autumnal weather with the sun stabbing through the clouds and picking out famous buildings and towers. I could not resist launching out upon a campaign of sketching in pencil and watercolor which kept me busy for a year, in which time there was scarcely a corner of the great city I did not visit.”

Wilcox continually sketched during his travels, adding washes of watercolor to whatever subject he came across on the streets. He much preferred “the real Paris,” the Latin Quarter of the left bank, where tourists seldom visited.

113 Blanchisseuse Leaving a Laundry Barge, Paris, France

c. 1910 Watercolor and graphite on paper Monogram lower right 13 x 9.25 inches 21 x 17 inches, as framed Exhibited: “A Buckeye Abroad: Frank Wilcox in Paris 1910-1926” from August 24, 2013-January 5, 2014 at The Dayton Art Institute

114 Tumbrels Bowing in Prayer towards Notre Dame

1910 Watercolor and graphite on paper Signed lower right 9 x 13 inches 17 x 21 inches, as framed

115 River Dredging Across from Magasins de la Samaritaines

1910 Watercolor and graphite on paper Monogram lower right 14 x 10 inches 21 x 17 inches, as framed

“The watercolors painted on this European trip were done in color values supported by pencil accents - a method which I stumbled upon and which proved speedy and effective.”

116 Tour St. Germain L’Auxerois

1911 Watercolor and graphite on paper Monogram lower left 13 x 8 inches 21 x 17 inches, as framed

117 Dismantled Barge, Paris, France

c. 1910-11 Watercolor on board Monogram bottom right 9.25 x 13 inches Exhibited: “A Buckeye Abroad: Frank Wilcox in Paris 1910-1926” from August 24, 2013-January 5, 2014 at The Dayton Art Institute

“In spite of the curtailment of my journeyings, many useful sketches came out of those few weeks; and these arrived safely thanks to having mailed them previous to the declaration of war by England.”

118 The Cathedral of Mainz, Germany

c. 1914 Watercolor and graphite on paper mounted on board Monogram lower right 12.75 x 9. 5 inches

119 Masts and Steeple, Dordrecht, Netherlands

c. 1914 Watercolor and graphite on paper Monogram lower right 12.25 x 9.5 inches Exhibited: “A Buckeye Abroad: Frank Wilcox in Paris 1910-1926” from August 24, 2013-January 5, 2014 at The Dayton Art Institute

120 Mill at Leiden, Netherlands

1914 Gouache and graphite on paper Signed and dated lower left 18 x 11.5 inches

“In this short trip, two things stand out in strong contrast - the earlier peace and quiet of Holland and the picture of Europe in the first throes of war.”

121 Molen de Adriaan, Haarlem, Netherlands

c. 1914 Graphite and watercolor on paper mounted on board Signed lower right 11.75 x 9.5 inches

122 Frankfurt Cathedral, Germany

c. 1914 Graphite and watercolor on paper Monogram lower right 12.25 x 9.5 inches

“I was arrested under suspicion twice that day, and finally made my escape to Holland by a ruse that fortunately worked... My first attempt to get out of Cologne got me as far as Brussels where I had to retreat again to Cologne. The scenes at the frontiers were harrowing, accompanied by qualities in the sky and landscape which I felt, but which might, under other circumstances, have seemed more normal. All I could think of was getting home where one could see no crowded small cities and where elms stood in wide pastures as in Brecksville.”

123 “Minnie Haw Haw”

c. 1914 Charcoal and gouache on paper Monogram lower right 13 x 9.25 inches Exhibited: “A Buckeye Abroad: Frank Wilcox in Paris 1910-1926” from August 24, 2013-January 5, 2014 at The Dayton Art Institute

THIRD AND FINAL TRIP TO EUROPE (1926-7)

“After fifteen years, the streets of Paris and provincial France held a different kind of interest. At this time, I felt oil painting necessary to a complete competence, although it was a slow and more laborious process. We were tied down to a development in oil. This resulted in my doing much more with formal composition, with a tendency toward the decorative.”

124 Silent Prayers at St. Malo, France

1925 Watercolor and gouache on board Signed and dated lower right 19 x 24 inches

125 Clouds at La Valliere, France

c. 1926-7 Watercolor on paper 11 x 14 inches 17.5 x 21.5 inches, as framed

126 Gathering Kelp, St. Malo, France

c. 1926 Watercolor on paper 15 x 21 inches 24 x 30 inches, as framed

127 Plage and Ramparts, St. Malo. France

c. 1926 Watercolor on paper 15 x 19.5 inches

128 Gathering Kelp, St. Malo, France

c. 1926 Tempera on paper Signed lower right 18 x 24 inches 31 x 35 inches, as framed

129 Plage at St. Malo, France

c. 1926 Watercolor on paper Signed lower right 15 x 18.75 inches

130 People of St. Malo, France

c. 1926 Oil on canvas Signed lower right 34.5 x 38 inches 38.5 x 43 inches, as framed Exhibited: 1927 May Show (1st Place), Cleveland Museum of Art.

131 Entering the Village, Charenton, France

c. 1926 Watercolor on paper Signed lower right 19.75 x 16.5 inches

132 Houses by the Marne, Charenton, France

c. 1926-7 Watercolor on paper 18.25 x 15 inches

133 Home in the Village, Mt. St. Michel, France

c. 1926 Watercolor on board Signed lower right 21.75 x 28 inches

134 Breton Figures at Mt. St. Michel, France

c. 1926 Oil on panel Signed lower right 24 x 32 inches 28 x 37 inches, as framed

135 Resting, Brittany, France

c. 1926 Watercolor on paper Signed lower right 18.75 x 24.5 inches

136 Entering Paris, View of Hôtel de Ville, Paris, France

c. 1926 Oil on board 24.5 x 18.25 inches, as framed

137 Study for Entering Paris, View of Hôtel de Ville, Paris, France

c. 1926 Oil on board 36 x 24 inches

138 Seine and Conciergerie, Paris, France

c. 1926-7 Watercolor on paper Monogram lower right 14.75 x 17.75 inches

139 Notre Dame from the Île de la Cité, Paris, France

c. 1926 Watercolor on paper Signed lower right 18 x 24 inches 25.5 x 31.25 inches, as framed Exhibited: “A Buckeye Abroad: Frank Wilcox in Paris 1910-1926” from August 24, 2013-January 5, 2014 at The Dayton Art Institute

140 Loire at Tours and View of the Cathedral

c. 1926 Watercolor on paper Signed lower right 16 x 19 inches 26 x 29 inches, as framed

141 Loire at Tours

c. 1926-7 Watercolor on paper 15.25 x 20 inches

142 Church in Old Paris

1926 Watercolor on paper Signed lower right 19 x 16 inches 30 x 26 inches, as framed

143 Rainy Paris

c. 1926 Watercolor on board Signed lower right 22 x 30 inches Exhibited: 1956 May Show, Cleveland Museum of Art.

144 Skinny Dipping in the Seine, Paris, France

1925 Oil on canvas Signed and dated lower right 25 x 31 inches 31.5 x 37.5 inches, as framed Exhibited: 122nd Annual Exhibition of Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1927; Cleveland Society of Artists Exhibition of Fine Arts, 1930.

145 Porte de Clignancourt, Paris, France

c. 1926-7 Oil on board 23.5 x 29.5 inches 30 x 36 inches, as framed Exhibited: “A Buckeye Abroad: Frank Wilcox in Paris 1910-1926” from August 24, 2013-January 5, 2014 at The Dayton Art Institute

Photograph of Wilcox posing in front of Porte de Clignancourt

146 Barge on the Seine

c. 1926 Watercolor on paper 15.25 x 21.5 inches

147 Cliffs at Paramé, France

c. 1926 Watercolor on paper Signed lower right 15.25 x 19.25 inches

148 Cliffs near Paramé, France

c. 1926-7 Watercolor on paper Signed lower right 11 x 14.5 inches 19 x 22.5 inches, as framed

149 Cliff at Paramé, France

c. 1926 Watercolor on paper Signed lower right 14 x 17.5 inches