Felrath Hines (American, 1913-1993), Hibiscus

Oil on canvas, 1952, signed and titled to verso, inscribed with date to stretcher, framed.

Stretcher size 36 x 30 in.; Frame dimensions 40 1/2 x 34 1/2 in.

Being Sold to Benefit Charitable Purposes in Eastern North Carolina

Samuel Felrath Hines, Jr. was a pioneering African American abstract painter and esteemed painting conservator. Born in Indianapolis, Hines’s early interest in art was nurtured through youth classes at the John Herron Art Institute. After high school, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and later worked as a railroad dining car waiter to fund his education at the Art Institute of Chicago. Further studies followed in New York under Russian modernist Nahum Tschacbasov, along with coursework at the Pratt Institute and New York University.

In 1951, Hines entered the conservation field, apprenticing under master framer Robert Kulicke and the influential conservationists Sheldon and Caroline Keck. Over a 25-year career, he conserved works for top institutions like MoMA, the Whitney, and the Guggenheim. Georgia O’Keeffe encouraged his move to Washington, D.C., where he became chief conservator at the National Portrait Gallery and later the Hirshhorn Museum.

Throughout his conservation career, Hines continued to paint. He was a member of the Spiral Group, alongside artists Romare Bearden and Hale Woodruff. After retiring in 1984, Hines devoted himself to painting full-time, producing more in his final decade than in all prior years. His works are held in collections at the Chrysler Museum, Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Ackland Art Museum.

Good estate condition, light age cracking, and one associated fleabite at the right edge.