Lot 178: John Kelly Fitzpatrick O/C Autumn Landscape, Alabama Woodlands, 1942

John Kelly Fitzpatrick (Alabama, 1888-1953) oil on canvas fall landscape painting. A row of purple tree trunks extend from the floor of a forest filled with colorful autumnal foliage. With passages of heavy impasto throughout. Sgraffito signature and date to lower right. Housed in a giltwood frame. Canvas: 12 in. H x 16 in. W. Framed: 14 5/8 in. H x 18 5/8 in. W. 1942. Biographical Note: Dixie Art Colony co-founder John Kelly Fitzpatrick was known for his paintings of Alabama’s rural landscapes, painted during a turbulent period in the state’s history. His father, Dr. Phillips Fitzpatrick, was a well-to-do physician, and he resided most of his life at the family’s 1840s Greek Revival home in Elmore County. Fitzpatrick studied at the Art Institute of Chicago before enlisting in the Army in 1918. He was wounded and severely scarred during the war and later wrote that his experience caused him to lose interest in the material world and focus on the beautiful and spiritual aspects of life. After the war, he returned to painting and attended the prestigious Academie Julian in Paris, where he absorbed the influences of Paul Cezanne, Vincent Van Gogh and Henri Matisse–particularly their love of brilliant color. Once back in the South, he made numerous contributions to the arts in Alabama. He was the first director of the Montgomery Museum of Art School and spent much of his time teaching at the Dixie Art Colony at Lake Jordan. He also co-founded the Alabama Art League and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Art and was the first director and co-founder of the Montgomery Museum of Art School. (Sources: The Dixie Art Colony Foundation; The Montgomery Museum of Fine Art)

CONDITION: Overall very good condition. With three areas of minor retouch to red foliage, lower left, largest 3/8 inch x 3/16 inch. See UV photography. Fine, stable cracks to some areas of impasto.