John Kelly Fitzpatrick (1888–1953) was a regionalist American painter from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Biography

Early life

John Kelly Fitzpatrick was born in 1888 in

Wetumpka, Alabama Wetumpka () is a city in and the county seat of Elmore County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,220. In the early 21st century, Elmore County became one of the fastest-growing counties in the state. The city i ...

.Encyclopedia of Alabama
/ref>The Johnson Collection
/ref>The Charleston Renaissance Gallery
/ref>Rebecca Mark (ed.), Robert C. Vaughan (ed.), ''The South'', Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004 , p. 5

/ref> His father, Phillips Fitzpatrick (1830–1901), was a physician, and his mother was Jane Lovedy Kelly (1850–1913). His paternal grandfather,

Benjamin Fitzpatrick Benjamin Fitzpatrick (June 30, 1802 – November 21, 1869) was an American politician who served as the List of Governors of Alabama, 11th Governor of Alabama and as a United States Senate, United States Senator from that state. He was a Democrat ...

(1802–1869), served as the governor of

from 1841 to 1845. He attended the Stark University School in Montgomery and went to the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

to study journalism for two years, until he dropped out. He then spent a semester at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, but dropped out again. In 1918, he joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and served in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1929, he spent a few months at the

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

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 ...

. In other words, his formal education was fairly limited, as he never managed to receive a degree from an institution of higher education.

Career

As a regionalist painter, Fitzpatrick is best known for his paintings of rural Alabama, especially his home county of

Elmore County, Alabama Elmore County is a County (United States), county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 87,977. Its county seat is Wetumpka, Alabama, Wetumpka. Its ...

. He was inspired by French painters like

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century a ...

(1839–1906),

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

(1853–1890), and

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

(1869–1954). In the French tradition, he often painted out in the open, near lakes or creeks in the Alabama countryside. Together with a group of artists known as the Morningview Painters, Fitzpatrick founded the Alabama Art League in the late 1920s. This led to the establishment of the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

in 1930. He sat on its original Board of Trustees and helped develop its permanent collection. Some of his work is still exhibited there. He also taught painting and served as director of the Montgomery Museum Art School.Ted Olson (ed.), ''CrossRoads: A Southern Culture Annual'', Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 2004, p. 11

/ref> In 1938 and 1939, he was commissioned by the federal government as part of the Public Works of Art Project to produce paintings, including

murals A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

inside the newly constructed post offices in the towns of

Ozark, Alabama Ozark is a city in and the county seat of Dale County, Alabama. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 14,907. Ozark is the principal city of the Ozark Micropolitan Statistical Area, as well as a part of the Dothan-Ozark Co ...

titled ''Early Industry of Dale County'' and in

Phenix City, Alabama Phenix City is a city in Lee and Russell counties in the U.S. state of Alabama, and the county seat of Russell County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 38,817. Phenix City lies immediately west across the Chattahoochee ...

titled ''Cotton''. In 1933, Fitzpatrick co-founded the Dixie Art Colony with Sallie B. Carmichael and her daughter Warree Carmichael LeBron. The idea was to establish an

artist colony Art colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, Art school, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typica ...

to paint and train burgeoning artists in the South. From 1937, they met at Poka Hutchi ("gathering of picture writers" in Creek Indian parlance), a small cabin on Lake Jordan. Later, Frank W. Applebee, the Chair of the School of Art and Architecture at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

and a painter, joined the colony, as did Genevieve Southerland, Anne Wilson Goldthwaite and Lamar Dodd (1909-1996). The colony last met in 1948. The ''John Kelly Fitzpatrick Gallery'' is in the City Administration Building in Wetumpka, Alabama.Wetumpka Chamber of Commerce
/ref> Additionally, some of his paintings can be found in the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts and the

Alabama Department of Archives and History The Alabama Department of Archives and History is the official repository of archival records for the U.S. state of Alabama. Under the direction of Thomas M. Owen its founder, the agency received state funding by an act of the Alabama Legislatu ...

in Montgomery as well as the Johnson Collection in

Spartanburg, South Carolina Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in South Carolina, 11th ...

and the

Ogden Museum of Southern Art The Ogden Museum of Southern Art is a museum dedicated to art by artists from the southern United States in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was established in 1999. The building The Ogden museum is located in the Warehouse Arts District of downtown ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

.Ogden Museum of Southern Art

Death

He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on April 18, 1953. He was buried in the Wetumpka City Cemetery.

Selected paintings

*''The Sugar Cane Mill'' (Montgomery, Alabama: Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, 1933). *''Monday Morning'' (Montgomery, Alabama: Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, 1934). *''Oat Fields'' (Spartanburg, South Carolina: The Johnson Collection, 1936). *''Jug Factory'' (Spartanburg, South Carolina: The Johnson Collection, 1937). *''Mules to Market'' (New Orleans, Louisiana: Ogden Museum of Southern Art, 1937). *''Harvest'' (Spartanburg, South Carolina: The Johnson Collection, 1941). *''Creek Indian Corn Dance'' (Montgomery, Alabama: Alabama Department of Archives and History, 1945).Alabama Dept. of Archives and History Digital Collections
/ref> *''Hillbilly Barn Dance'' (Montgomery, Alabama: Alabama Department of Archives and History, 1945). *''Minuet'' (Montgomery, Alabama: Alabama Department of Archives and History, 1947). *''Swinging on the Grapevine'' (Montgomery, Alabama: Alabama Department of Archives and History, 1948).

Secondary sources

*''John Kelly Fitzpatrick: Retrospective Exhibition'' (Montgomery, Alabama: Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, 1970). *''A Symphony of Color: The World of Kelly Fitzpatrick'' (Montgomery: Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, 1991). *''Dixie Art Colony Foundation'' (Wetumpka: Dixie Art Colony Foundation, 2017).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzpatrick, John Kelly 1888 births 1953 deaths People from Wetumpka, Alabama 20th-century American painters American male painters Section of Painting and Sculpture artists 20th-century American male artists