Frank Fowler (July 12, 1852 – August 18, 1910) was an American figure and portrait painter.

Biography

Frank Fowler was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

on July 12, 1852. He was educated at

Adelphi Academy Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had ...

. He studied painting in Europe, at

Florence, Italy Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence was a centre of medieval European t ...

for two years under Edwin White, for seven years under

Carolus-Duran Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran (4 July 1837 – 17 February 1917), was a French painter and art instructor. He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of Upper class, high society in French Third Republic, Third Rep ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and under

Alexandre Cabanel Alexandre Cabanel (; 28 September 1823 – 23 January 1889) was a French Painting, painter. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the Academic art, academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter. He was Napoleon ...

at the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

. Fowler assisted Duran on the

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

Marie de Médicis Marie de' Medici (; ; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV. Marie served as regent of France between 1610 and 1617 during the minority of her son Louis XIII. Her mandate as regent l ...

in the

Luxembourg Palace The Luxembourg Palace (, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of the regent Marie de' Med ...

. On his return to New York in 1879 he devoted himself for a time to mural painting, his most important work being the decoration of the ballroom at the Waldorf Hotel (1892) (The building exists no more, having been destroyed to provide a place where the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...

could be erected). Later he painted chiefly portraits, including a number of public men. Some of his portraits have been kept at

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

and elsewhere. In the late 1890s, he resided in a home on at #16 The Enclosure, an artists' colony in

Nutley, New Jersey Nutley is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 30,143, an increase of 1,773 (+6.2%) from the 2010 United ...

. He built a large studio on the back of that house, where he painted. The same studio was later owned by

Michael Lenson Michael Lenson (February 21, 1903 – June 9, 1971) has gained widespread recognition as one of America's most important realist painters. ''Who Was Who in American Art'' called him "New Jersey's most important muralist." He is valued for his skil ...

, a well known New Jersey painter who was director of the mural division of the New Jersey WPA in the 1930s. Earlier, the same home was owned by Frederick Dana Marsh, the illustrator. The house was the childhood home of Reginald Marsh, the distinguished American painter. In 1892, he was elected into the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1900. He wrote upon art topics for the magazines and several textbooks: ''Oil Painting'' (1885), ''Portrait and Figure Painting'' (1901) and ''Drawing In Charcoal And Crayon'' (1899). Fowler died in

New Canaan, Connecticut New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region. About an hour from New York City by train, the town ...

on August 18, 1910.

References

1852 births 1910 deaths 19th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American painters Painters from Brooklyn People from Nutley, New Jersey American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts Painters from New Jersey 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists {{US-painter-1850s-stub