Francis "Fran" Sumner Merritt (1913–2000) was an American painter, teacher, and arts administrator. He was a co-founder and first director of

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, commonly called "Haystack," is a craft school located at 89 Haystack School Drive on the coast of Deer Isle, Maine. History Haystack was founded in 1950 by a group of craft artists in the Belfast, Maine are ...

Biography

Francis Sumner Merritt was born on April 8, 1913, in Danvers,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. He studied at the

Vesper George School of Art The Vesper George School of Art was a school in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1924 and closed in 1983. History The school namesake and founder was (1865–1934) a painter, born in Boston. The campus had been located at 44 Sa ...

, the San Diego Academy of Fine Arts, the Massachusetts School of Art, and at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. Merritt taught at

Abbot Academy Abbot Academy (also known as Abbot Female Seminary and AA) was an University-preparatory school, independent boarding preparatory school for women boarding and day care for students in grades 9–12 from 1828 to 1973. Located in Andover, Massac ...

Cranbrook Academy of Art The Cranbrook Academy of Art, a graduate school for architecture, art, and design, was founded by George Gough Booth and Ellen Scripps Booth in 1932. It is the art school of the Cranbrook Educational Community. Located in Bloomfield Hills, Mi ...

, and the

Flint Institute of Arts The Flint Institute of Arts, also called FIA, is located in the Flint Cultural Center in Flint, Michigan. The second largest art museum in Michigan, it offers exhibitions, interpretive programs, film screenings, concerts, lectures, family events ...

(from 1947 to 1951). In 1950, the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts was founded in

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

, Maine and Merritt served as the school's first director. His wife Pricilla worked on the arts administration for the school. For many years they lived at Centennial House, just outside the town of Deer Isle, Maine. Merritt died on December 27, 2000, in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. His work is included in the museum collections at the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

, and the Hudson Museum.

References

External links

Oral history interview with Francis Sumner Merritt, 1979 May 25-June 25
from

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washing ...

, Smithsonian Institution 1913 births 2000 deaths Cranbrook Academy of Art faculty People from Deer Isle, Maine People from Danvers, Massachusetts Painters from Maine American male painters Yale School of Art alumni {{US-painter-1910s-stub