William F. Draper; "Dean of American portraiture"
Hyfler/Rosner
DATELINE: NEW YORK AP
William F. Draper, known as the "Dean of American portraiture" for his
ability to bring to life his paintings of presidents, kings and the famous,
has died. He was 90.
Draper died at his home in Manhattan last Sunday, said Bret Gallaway, his
great-nephew.
In 1999, the Portrait Society of America called Draper the "Dean of American
portraiture" when he received the group's lifetime achievement award.
His portraits of John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon hang in the National
Portrait Gallery and his portrait of former New York Mayor John Lindsay is
in City Hall.
Draper's work stands among the top portrait artists of the modern era, and
art critics have praised him for his fluid style and virtuoso brush work.
Perry T. Rathbone, director emeritus of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, said
"Draper's understanding and love of people and his appreciation of physical
subtleties are happily projected into his work."
William Franklin Draper was born in Hopedale, Mass., on Dec. 24, 1912.
After studying at Harvard and the National Academy of Design in New York, he
joined the U.S. Navy in 1942. Draper often worked in foxholes or on aircraft
carrier decks sketching the battles as they happened. He also painted the
portraits of two admirals.
Draper left the Navy in 1945 after reaching the rank of lieutenant commander
and earning a Bronze Star for his service in the Pacific. In 1951, he moved
into the Upper East Side brownstone that was his home until his death.
Besides Kennedy and Nixon, Draper also painted portraits of Walter
Annenberg, the Shah of Iran and King Faisal of Saudi Arabia.
Draper is survived by two children and five grandchildren.
Bill Schenley
> Painter William Draper, 'dean of portraiture,' dies
<snipped>
http://www.pbs.org/theydrewfire/artists/draper.html
--
"We shall soon be obliged to meet in cellars, or in darkened
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next door neighbors should hear that freeborn citizens dare
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- Emma Goldman -
Hyfler/Rosner
"Bill Schenley" <stra...@ma.rr.com> wrote in message
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> Hyfler/Rosner posted:
>
> > Painter William Draper, 'dean of portraiture,' dies
>
> <snipped>
November 1, 2003
William Draper, Painter Who Portrayed Presidents, Dies at 90
By KEN JOHNSON
William F. Draper, a portrait painter and former combat artist who depicted
many of the world's wealthiest and most powerful, died at his home in
Manhattan on Sunday. He was 90.
In Mr. Draper's five-decade career, his subjects included President Richard
M. Nixon, Mayor John V. Lindsay of New York, the Shah of Iran, the financier
Paul Mellon, Dr. Charles Mayo of the Mayo Clinic, Terence Cardinal Cooke,
the actress Celeste Holm and the New York socialite and jazz harpist Daphne
Hellman. A portrait he did of John F. Kennedy, based on an oil sketch for
which the president sat in 1962, hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in
Washington.
William Franklin Draper was born in Hopedale, Mass., on Dec. 24, 1912. He
studied at Harvard and at the National Academy of Design in New York. After
joining the Navy in 1942, he served on the Aleutian Islands and in the South
Pacific as a combat artist. An expert illustrator, he worked in oils,
painting battle scenes that he observed on Bougainville, Guam, Saipan and
elsewhere, as well as noncombat images of soldiers at work and at play.
In 1944 National Geographic reproduced 25 of his war images in four issues.
In 1945 the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington organized an exhibition of
works by five official war artists, including Mr. Draper, and in the same
year the Metropolitan Museum included him in a show called "The War Against
Japan."
During the war, Mr. Draper was also commissioned to paint portraits of Adm.
Chester W. Nimitz and Adm. William F. Halsey. By the time he left the Navy
in 1945, he was a lieutenant commander and had earned a Bronze Star.
In May 2000 he was featured in a PBS television special on combat artists
called "They Drew Fire."
After the war, Mr. Draper established a studio on Park Avenue and began his
career in portraiture. Trained as a pianist before he turned to art, he
played classical music as well as jazz.
In 1999 he received the Portrait Society of America's gold medal, its
highest honor.
Mr. Draper was divorced from his wife, Barbara, in the 1970's. He is
survived by his children, William, of Carbondale, Colo., and Margaret, of
Arcata, Calif., and five grandchildren. Another daughter, Francesca, died in
1986.