Francis Speight (American, 1896-1989), Remnants

Lot Details & Additional Photographs

Oil on canvas, 1937, signed with the artist's initials and dated at lower left, presented within a frame by Bernard "Ben" Badura. The frame is signed with Badura's initials and inscribed "Frame By "Badura" New Hope Pa Dec 75," retaining Badura's address label to verso.

A hand-written note on the backboard indicates that Francis Speight signed the painting sometime in the 1980s. His initial dated with "c. 1927," which he corrected to 1937 in 1992 to reflect the 1937 date on the verso of the canvas. Note that "c" is visible only under UV light before the date.

Stretcher size 16 x 20 in.; Frame dimensions 20 1/2 x 24 1/2 in.

Private Collection, New Bern, North Carolina

Francis Speight was born in rural Bertie County, North Carolina in 1896. He began his art studies with Ida Poteat at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina, followed by a brief period at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. While at the Corcoran, he was introduced to the work of Daniel Garber. Speight was so impressed with Garber’s American impressionist paintings that he moved to Philadelphia to study with the artist at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

In 1925, Speight graduated from the academy but stayed as a painting and drawing instructor until 1961. This period of his work is characterized by tender scenes of the blue collar industrial towns surrounding Philadelphia. Bathed in dramatic rays of sun, or soft shadows, these paintings and their compositions seem to sway and dance across the canvas.

The North Carolina Museum of Art mounted a retrospective of Speight’s work in 1961, marking the artist’s return to his home state. He and his wife, Sarah Blakeslee, moved to Greenville, North Carolina where he taught art at East Carolina University. This new position allowed him greater time and freedom to paint. Both he and Sarah would travel and paint across North Carolina, returning to Pennsylvania and the PAFA to teach summer classes.

Francis Speight exhibited frequently throughout his lifetime, with solo exhibitions at Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH; Delgado Museum, New Orleans; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia; Greenville Museum of Art, Greenville, NC; North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh; and more. His paintings are in numerous prominent private and public collections, including The Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC; Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, NC; Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC; National Academy of Design, New York; The Johnson Collection, Spartanburg, SC; and many more.

Good estate condition with no evidence of restoration or retouch visible under UV light. Under UV light a "c." is placed before the date. See notes on date on verso of backboard.