Francis Sumner Merritt

American artist, founder of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts (1913–2000)

Francis "Fran" Sumner Merritt (1913–2000) was an American painter, teacher and arts administrator.[1] Francis Sumner Merritt was born on April 8, 1913, in Danvers, Massachusetts.[2] He had his education at the Vesper George School of Art, the San Diego Academy of Fine Arts, the Massachusetts School of Art, and at Yale University.[3]

Early life and works

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Merritt lectured at Abbot Academy, Cranbrook Academy of Art, and the Flint Institute of Arts (from 1947 to 1951).[3] In 1950, the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts was founded in Liberty, Maine and Merritt served as the school's first director.[3][4] His wife Pricilla worked on the arts administration for the school.[4] For many years they lived at Centennial House, just outside the town of Deer Isle, Maine.[5]

Merritt died on December 27, 2000, in Belfast, Maine.[2] His work is included in the museum collections at the National Gallery of Art,[6] and the Hudson Museum.[7]

References

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  1. "Merritt, Francis Sumner, 1913-2000". The Library of Congress, LC Linked Data Service. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Francis Merritt, 87, Whose School Broadened the Study of Crafts". The New York Times. 2001-01-08. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Oral history interview with Francis Sumner Merritt, 1979 May 25-June 25". Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Fogler, Raymond H. (2016). "Haystack Mountain School of Crafts Records, 1950-2005". Digital Commons @Maine.
  5. Tree, Christina; English, Nancy (2012-06-04). Explorer's Guide Maine (Sixteenth Edition) (Explorer's Complete). Countryman Press. ISBN 978-0-88150-964-9.
  6. "Francis Merritt". www.nga.gov. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  7. "Francis Merritt". Hudson Museum.