Lot 68: Malcolm Fraser (1868 - 1949) "The Explorer"

Malcolm Fraser (1868 - 1949) "The Explorer" Gouache. Signed upper left. Sight Size: 11 x 6.25 in. In 1892 he painted two six-foot windows for St. Luke's Episcopal Church in the Rue Notre Dame in Paris. In 1895 he graduated from the Sorbonne in Paris, and in the same year was awarded the title of Professor of Fine Arts by the City of Paris. Also in that year, he was sent by the London "Times" to Egypt to make drawings for an archeological expedition to that country. He also made drawings for the Boulak Museum in Cairo, and was associated with Sir Flinders Petri. Also in 1895, Mr. Fraser received a degree from the University of Heidelberg in Germany. Although just past his twenty-sixth birthday, he had the honor, on his return to England, of make drawings at the home of Alfred Lord Tennyson, with the poet and his place of residence as subjects. He was associated with many of the famous personages of his period: Whistler, Monet, Corot, Sargent, the Innesses (father and son), Charcot, Petri, Rodin; Sir Henry Irving, Ellen Terry, Sarah Bernhardt and G. B. Shaw; Helen Keller and Ignace Jan Paderewski. Portraits executed by Mr. Fraser at this time included two of Queen Wilhelmina of Holland and others of the Barons Rothschild, a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, and other prominent figures. He also executed murals for many private homes. In 1897, after returning to this country, Mr. Fraser became a member of the Salmagundi Club in New York, and began his career as an illustrator which during succeeding years made his name well known among readers of such magazines as the Ladies' Home Journal, Leslie's, St. Nicholas, Cosmopolitan, Harper's Century and other foremost periodicals of the time. He illustrated a number of fiction works in both the short-story and novel forms. Among these were "Black Beauty," F. Hopkinson Smith's "Caleb West," and Winston Churchill's "Richard Carvel," as well as the stories of Bret Harte. In 1908 he exhibited a series of seventeen symbolic paintings at Clausen's Galleries in New York; and between 1910 and 1914 made a complete series of biblical illustrations for Sunday schools for the Providence Lithograph Company of Providence, Rhode Island. In 1917 he exhibited sixteen symbolic paintings at the Boss Art Gallery in New York, and the same year donated three large paintings, with poster rights, to the National Red Cross in Washington, D.C. Mr. Fraser volunteered for service in World War I in 1917. He joined the French regiment known as the "Blue Devils." He later served as captain on the front lines, as zone commander with the American Red Cross, American Expeditionary Forces. In 1919 he resumed his career in America as painter, teacher and lecturer on art. From that time, he had an uninterrupted career. At various times he was identified with the advertising departments of the Vacuum Oil Company, the Standard Oil Company, and the staffs of the magazines noted above. He produced work for the Providence Lithograph Company. In his earlier career, he had also contracted with Bellevue Hospital to execute a series of surgical drawings. Malcolm Fraser was voted an honorary member of the International Mark Twain Society for his contribution to American Art; and he was also an honorary member of the Orlando Art Association. He has been included in "Who's Who in America" since 1901. Two major accomplishments later in his career were his donation of a large memorial altar piece to St. Luke's Episcopal Cathedral in Orlando in 1945; and his donation of fifty-six symbolic paintings to the City of Ormond Beach, Florida, in 1946. The Miami "News" of November 30, 1947 states that "This $200,000 Art Gallery is the first war memorial to be completed in Florida." This series of paintings, the central theme of which is: "Spirit is life's only significant reality," was presented by the artist as a war memorial to those who served in World Wars I and II. The citizens of Ormond erected a building to house this gift, and it was known as the Ormond War Memorial Art Gallery. Himself a veteran, Mr. Fraser had been wounded five times at the front from explosions, trench knife, shrapnel and gas. As evidence of his own extensive military record, he was awarded the following decorations: The Verdun Medal, Legion of Honor, Croix de Guerre, Cross of Malta, Jerusalem Cross, Silver Star of Belgium, The Cross of Joan of Arc, and the ribbon of the French Hospital Service with three stars. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Alsace Lorraine Society. He had received the Congressional Medal of Honor for Life Saving by a special act of Congress in 1884. Provenance: Davis Galleries, New York City. This item is framed behind glass.