Sunbath

Frederick Carl Frieseke prints bring dappled sunlight, flowering gardens and women in pastel dresses into your home. Frieseke was an American Impressionist who lived most of his life in France and became the leading figure of the American art colony at Giverny. Our collection of fine art prints covers his garden scenes, sunlit interiors, women at their toilette, nudes and still lifes.

About Frederick Carl Frieseke

Frederick Carl Frieseke was born in Owosso, Michigan, on 7 April 1874, the grandson of German immigrants. His mother died when he was six, and the family spent four years in Florida. Encouraged by his grandmother, he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1893 and the Art Students League in New York, while selling cartoons to The New York Times, Puck and Truth.

In 1898 he moved to France, where he stayed for the rest of his life. He studied at the Académie Julian under Benjamin-Constant and Jean-Paul Laurens and at the Académie Carmen under James McNeill Whistler, whose subtle tones shaped his early work. In 1905 he married Sarah O'Bryan, known as Sadie, who often posed for him.

From 1906 to 1919 the Friesekes spent every summer at Giverny, in the house next door to Claude Monet's that had belonged to Theodore Robinson, though Monet was not an influence. Their house and garden appear in many of his paintings, and he became the most influential painter among the Americans there. Seventeen of his paintings were shown at the 1909 Venice Biennale. In 1920 the family moved to a farm at Le Mesnil-sur-Blangy in Normandy, where he died on 24 August 1939.

Style and Subjects

Frieseke's great subject was sunlight: dappled light filtering through parasols, leaves and lace onto women's dresses, skin and garden flowers. He painted with broken, decorative brushstrokes and a palette of pinks, yellows, lilacs and greens, often filling the whole picture with pattern.

Indoors he painted women at their dressing tables, in boudoirs and by windows, combining patterned wallpapers, fabrics and mirrors into rich, intimate scenes. His later work is softer and more subdued.

Famous Works

• Le Pouldu Landscape (1901), Brooklyn Museum, New York. An early Breton landscape in quiet tones.
• Nude Seated at Her Dressing Table (1909), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington. An intimate interior full of patterned colour.
• The Yellow Room (1910), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A woman in a sunny room of yellow patterns.
• Woman with a Mirror (1911), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. A woman studying her reflection in her boudoir.
• Hollyhocks (1912), Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid. A woman among tall flowers in his Giverny garden.
• Summer (1914), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. A woman resting in the grass in dappled sunlight.
• Youth (1926), Los Angeles County Museum of Art. A later, softer study of a young woman.

Decorating with Frieseke Prints

Frieseke's sunny garden scenes, like Hollyhocks or Under the Awning, bring warmth and colour to a bedroom, sunroom or living room, and their pinks and greens suit cottage, French country and light modern interiors.

His boudoir and dressing-table pictures are a natural fit for a bedroom or dressing room, and his still lifes brighten a kitchen or breakfast room.

FAQ

Who was Frederick Carl Frieseke?

Frederick Carl Frieseke (1874–1939) was an American Impressionist painter who lived in France from 1898 and was a leading member of the Giverny art colony.

Was Frieseke influenced by Monet?

Although his house at Giverny was next door to Claude Monet's, Frieseke did not become close to Monet, and Monet was not an artistic influence. His early teacher Whistler mattered more.

What did Frieseke paint?

Mostly women in sunlit gardens and interiors, often his wife Sadie, as well as nudes, still lifes and some landscapes.

Where can I see Frieseke's paintings?

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum hold his work.

Related Artists

• James Abbott McNeill Whistler: his teacher at the Académie Carmen
• Theodore Robinson: earlier American at Giverny, whose house he took
• Claude Monet: his neighbour at Giverny
• Lilla Cabot Perry: fellow American Impressionist at Giverny