Michael Frary (May 28, 1918 – August 30, 2005) was an American Modernist artist from Santa Monica, California, who was known for his interest in structural forms and architectural compositions, as well as for his Surrealist impulses. A versatile artist, Frary experimented with a range of mediums and constantly refined his approach to his subjects.

Early life and career

Frary graduated from Palm Beach High School in 1934 and was awarded an athletic scholarship from the University of Southern California (USC). During his time at USC, he became a champion swimmer and captain of the school's water polo team. In 1940, he graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture Degree. He obtained his Master of Fine Arts degree in painting the following year. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Frary joined the United States Navy. He was discharged as a Lieutenant when the war concluded in 1945 and returned to California.

Frary subsequently worked as an assistant art director for Goldwyn Studios, Paramount, and Universal Studios. As a member of the Society of Motion Picture Art Directors from 1946 to 1949, Frary assisted with the design of backdrops for films directed by Hollywood luminaries like Orson Welles. He began to teach night classes in painting at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and was soon offered a full-time teaching position at the school. While teaching at UCLA, Frary also taught at Los Angeles City College and the Chouinard Art Institute.

Texas Modernist Period

In 1949, Michael relocated from California to Texas, after accepting the position of faculty chair at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Frary continued his studies, taking classes at the Chicago Art Institute and at L' Académie de La Chaudière in Paris. These experiences gave him an appreciation for the forward-thinking work being produced by the European and American Modernists. Frary taught at the McNay Museum until 1952 and, while there, met Lola Marguerite Finch Mathewson "Peggy" Frary, whom he married in 1950.

When Frary was offered an assistant professor position at the University of Texas at Austin, he and his wife moved to a contemporary house in the northwest hills of Austin. They would remain there for the next five decades. Peggy Frary, who had a flair for entertaining, turned the home into a gathering place for Austin's burgeoning arts community. Frary was named professor of Art in 1970 and, upon his retirement in 1986, was named Professor Emeritus of Art.

Frary's legacy as a seminal Texas Modernist rests of his achievements during his early years at the University of Texas, when he worked alongside notables like Charles Umlauf, Everett Spruce, Ralph White, Kelly Fearing, William Lester, and Loren Mozley to promote Modernism in Texas. Frary and his compatriots helped usher Texas out of its artistic conservatism and into the national and international mainstream.

Frary continued to paint and exhibit his work until his death in 2005.

Select solo exhibitions

During his career Frary received over one hundred seventy-five awards and purchase prizes and participated in over 200 one-man exhibitions.

1954 Dalzell Hatfield Galleries, Los Angeles, California Betty McLean Gallery, Dallas, Texas Pan-American Galleries, San Antonio, Texas 1955 Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Austin, Texas 1956 Dalzell Hatfield Galleries, Los Angeles, Texas Fine Arts Department, San Antonio, Texas 1957 Incarnate Word College, San Antonio, Texas Petite Gallery, New York, New York 1958 Valley House Gallery, Dallas, Texas 1959 Gallery of Modern Art, Fort Worth, Texas Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Austin, Texas Gallery of Modern Art, Fort Worth, Texas 1960 Junior League Gallery, Houston, Texas Dalzell Hatfield Galleries, Los Angeles, California Janet Nessler Gallery, New York, New York Springfield Museum of Art, Springfield, Missouri 1961 Art Department Gallery, San Angelo College, San Angelo, Texas 1962 McNay Art Institute, San Antonio, Texas Marion Koogler McNay Art Institute, San Antonio, Texas 1963 Hill Country Arts Foundation, Ingram, Texas Peabody Museum, Salem, Massachusetts 1964 Gallery of the Four Columns, Little Rock, Texas The Street Gallery, Little Rock, Arkansas Norton Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri Sul Ross State College Fine Arts Gallery, Alpine, Texas San Angelo College, San Angelo, Texas 1965 Shook Carrington Gallery, San Antonio, Texas 1966 Valley House Gallery, Dallas, Texas Dalzell Hatfield Galleries, Los Angeles, California 1967 Artists West of the Mississippi Exhibition, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, Colorado Missouri Southern University Art Department, Joplin, Missouri 1968 Concordia College, Austin, Texas Valley House Gallery, Dallas, Texas Shook Carrington Gallery, San Antonio, Texas Frary-Lester Show at University Art Museum, University of Texas at Austin 1970 Main Place Gallery, One Main Place, Dallas, Texas Parkcrest Gallery, 5408 Parkcrest, Austin, Texas TFAA traveling Michael Frary Exhibition: Sul Ross State College, Alpine, Texas; the University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX; Odessa College, Odessa, Texas; Angelina College, Lufkin, Texas; Kilgore College, Kilgore, Texas; McAllen State Bank Patrons of Art, McAllen, Texas; Guadalajara, Mexico 1971 University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas Odessa College, Odessa, Texas Sul Ross State University, Alpine, Texas Parkcrest Gallery, Austin, Texas 1973 Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Austin, Texas Meredith Long Gallery, Houston, Texas Marion Koogler McNay Art Institute, San Antonio, Texas Dallas Public Library, Dallas, Texas 1975 University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas Texas Lutheran College, Seguin, Texas 1977 Abilene Fine Arts Museum, Abilene, Texas 1979 Galveston Art Center on the Strand, Galveston, Texas 1984 Santa Fe East, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Select museums and public collections

Los Angeles County Museum, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio. Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California. Witte Memorial Museum, San Antonio, Texas Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Austin, Texas Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas Museum of Fine Arts of Houston, Texas Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, Missouri Janet Nessler Gallery, New York, New York Knoedler Gallery, New York, New York Black Tulip Gallery, Dallas, Texas Valley House Gallery, Dallas, Texas The University of Texas Student Union, Austin, Texas Beverly Fairfax Community Center, Los Angeles, California Meadows Building, Dallas, Texas D. D. Feldman Collection, Dallas, Texas Ted Weiner Collection, Fort Worth, Texas Coca-Cola Company, New York, New York Grumbacher Collection, New York, New York Bocour Collection, New York, New York Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia Phillips Petroleum Company, Bartlesville, Oklahoma Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. One Rockefeller Plaza, New York, New York State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, New York Bureau of Reclamation, Washington, D.C.

References

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