F.C. Frieseke was one of the leading American impressionists. Until the early 1930's, the expatriate's international reputation was such that he was called "America's best known contemporary painter." His relative anonymity today is due to the prettiness and sentimentality of his canvases; his subject matter was considered cloying by post W.W. 1 sensibilities.

Born in Owasso, Michigan in 1874, Frieseke went to France in 1898. He remained there until his death in 1939. Through Frieseke preferred to say that he was self taught, he actually studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League in New York City before entering the French Academie Julien. It was the study of other artists that enriched Frieseke, rather than the academic routine. He spent time in the atelier of Constant and Laurens, and in Paris received criticism from James McNeill Whistler. Whistler's influence can be seen in Frieseke's dark early work.

In 1906, Frieseke moved to Giverny, where Monet was his neighbor. Under the influence of Monet, Frieseke began to use the prismatic, rich color spectrum of the impressionists in garden and interior scenes. His adopted impressionistic style never compromised his solid sense of composition. He always thought of himself a realist, reproducing on canvas what he saw in nature.

Frieseke enjoyed acclaim during his life. His paintings were purchased for the French National Collection, and he was represented at the Venice Bienniale with 17 pictures. He was commissioned to paint several large murals for buildings in New York City and Atlantic City. At the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915 in San Francisco, He received the grand prize.

MEMBERSHIPS:
National Academy of Design
Societe National des Beaux Arts, Paris
Paris Art Association
New York Watercolor Club
Chevalier of the Legion of Honor

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
Art Institute of Chicago
Cincinnati Art Museum
Corcoran Gallery of the Art, Washington, D.C. 
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota
Musee d'Orsay, Paris
Museum of Odessa, Soviet Union
Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, Savannah, Georgia