Francis Speight (NC/PA, 1896-1989), Woman Peeling

Francis Speight (NC/PA, 1896-1989), Woman Peeling Apples

pastel on paper, with artist's monogram and inscribed "c. 1950" at lower right, presented under glass with wide silk mat and attractive gilt frame.
SS 17.5 x 12 in.; DOA 35 x 27.5 in.
Born in Bertie County, North Carolina in 1896, Francis Speight began his art studies at Meredith College in Raleigh. Following his lessons there, he then moved on to the Corcoran in Washington, D.C., where he viewed an exhibition of Daniel Garber's work and was inspired to enroll at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art where Garber was an instructor. Speight attended the Academy from 1920-1925, and upon graduation began teaching there and married one of his students and peer artists, Sarah Blakeslee. He then served as an instructor at the Academy until 1961, when he and Blakeslee moved back to Eastern North Carolina.

Speight's work is now present in the permanent collections of the North Carolina Museum of Art; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Boston Museum of Fine Arts; and many others. Speight was also the first artist to have a solo exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Art when they opened their doors in 1961.
From the Collection of Barbara Boney Campbell, Tarboro, North Carolina
Additional high-resolution photos are available at LelandLittle.com
Condition Report: Good estate condition - not examined out of the frame.