Ray H. French Nude Drawings and Watercolors

Three Graces Pentel marker on paper, 1965 Signed and dated by the artist lower left (see photo) Part of a series of 100 drawings, this number 97 (annotated lower right corner) Condition: Excellent Sheet/Image size: 20 x 15 inches Provenance: Estate of the Artist Martha A. French Trust Ray H. French: The Evolution of an Artistic Innovator Printmaker, painter, and sculptor Ray H. French was born in Terre Haute, Indiana on May 16, 1919. Terre Haute was a cultural wasteland before the opening of the Sheldon Swope Art Museum in 1942. Thus, with a father as a coal miner and carpenter, art remained a luxury for Ray. Nevertheless, local art teachers Mabel Mikel Williams and Nola E. Williams helped to foster his creativity and unshakable drive to create things of beauty. After high school, Ray attended the John Herron School of Art in Indianapolis. His studies there were interrupted by the outbreak of World War II, during which he developed surveillance photographs for the Army Air Force. After the war, Ray transferred to the University of Iowa on the G.I. Bill, where he received both his BFA and MFA degrees. The University of Iowa during the 1940s was a cultural mecca with many major art historians and artists. While in Iowa, Ray played an important role in this culture by becoming a founding member of the Iowa Print...