FRANCES PRATT

(American, 1859-1952)

NEW TO THE WORLD

Gouache and Watercolor on Paper

15½ x 21½ Inches

Signed Lower Right, in Graphite, "Frances Pratt" and Dated 1947

 

Born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, Frances Pratt moved to New York City where she studied at the New York School of Applied Design for Woman (1930-33), and, subsequently, at the Arts Students League (1933-35). She then met her first husband, Christopher Ritter, with whom she opened Laurel Gallery in Greenwich Village and printed the Laurel Folios.

 

Frances Pratt taught drawing and painting at the Ballard School from 1942 into the early 1950's. She also taught mixed media and watercolor techniques at the Parsons School of Design from 1948 to 1951 and was also the author of a book entitled 'Encaustic; Methods and Materials' (1949), which she co-authored with Carlo Gay.

 

The recipient of numerous medals, prizes and juried awards, Pratt exhibited widely and with success and was the subject one-person shows including at Theodore Kohn Galleries NYC (1941), Marquie Cont Arts Gallery (1943), the American British Art Center (1945), Laurel Gallery (1946), Doris Metzler Gallery (1955, 1960).

 

Reference:

Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Peter Hastings Falk, Sound View Press 1999, Vol. 3, p. 2656; et al.