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Frank Harmon Myers (1899 - 1956)
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Ohio born Frank H. Myers enrolled at the Cincinnati Art Academy in 1917, studying with Frank Duveneck (1848-1919) and John E. Weis (1892-1962), and later, at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In 1925, Myers married Ella Price, a young school teacher. They spent their honeymoon in Europe, staying in Paris and taking trips throughout Spain. The following year, they made an extended trip west, to Colorado and California, and on their return, spent several weeks in Santa Fe and Taos, where he met Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953).
Myers's work includes portraits as well as landscapes and urban scenes. His early paintings show a strong sense of realism handled in a bold and expressive brush stroke, and at other times, he produced brightly colored works showing his keen interest in French Impressionism. Gradually, he developed a strong sense of abstract design and in the late 1920s, he produced a number remarkably advanced paintings in an analytical style bordering on abstraction.
In the late 1930s, Myers's interest increasingly turned to painting the ocean. At the same time, his health began to falter and for no apparent reason, he experienced bouts of depression. In 1940, he took what was to be a year's leave of absence and moved to Monterey. Captivated by the beauty of the California coast, he remained the rest of his life. Thereafter, his work was almost exclusively seascapes, with an occasional portrait commission.
A well-respected leader of the Carmel-Monterey art community, Myers served as president of the Carmel Art Association, in 1953. His painting companions included Armin C. Hansen (1886-1957) and Donald Teague (born 1897), and together they defined the Monterey art scene for many years. After several years of recurring health problems, Frank Myers died of a heart attack on March 7, 1956.
Myers paintings are in the National Museum of American Art in Washington D. C., the Museum of New Mexico, the University of Cincinnati, and at the Irvine Museum.
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