Large Vintage 1980s Harley Francis Abstract Nudes Painting. Mixed Media, Glass

Large Vintage 1980s Harley Francis Abstract Nudes Painting. Mixed Media, Glass

Offered for sale is a large vintage 1980s painting by the late American artist Harley Francis (1940-2017). This is a Mixed media abstract painting on board of two male nude sunbathing figures. The painting is framed in wood and is under glass. The work is signed in the lower left by the artist.

38"w x 1.5"d x 26" h

“I am, above all else, a passionate and lifelong student of Art.”

Harley Francis was born October 15, 1940, in New Albany, Indiana to Harley and Josephine Francis. He received his early education at Fairmont Elementary School and at New Albany High School. He then majored in art at Indiana University, where he received his bachelor's degree. Francis pursued his master's work at Oberlin College.

Harley was a prolific creator, painting since the age of sixteen. He explored many diverse techniques and media during a career spanning over 50 years. His oeuvre includes the figure, still life, portraiture and abstract work as well as the landscape. Collage, clay work and artist amps have also played an important part in his art.

In 1956 Harley received a purchase prize for an oil painting from the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh. In 1965 a large retrospective of 150 oils and drawings was shown at Thor Gallery in Louisville, Kentucky, and at Brescia College in Owensboro, Kentucky. He has held six one-man shows in Bloomington, Indiana. Twice his works have been included in exhibitions at the Arts in Louisville House, and in 1964 he exhibited at the Evansville Fine Arts Museum in Indiana. He has also had two one-man shows at Oberlin College.

During the 1970s Harley became an internationally recognized artist through his extensive participation in the Mail Art movement. A unique and esoteric genre of art focusing on stamp making and correspondence with other artists via the mail system. Harley's dedication to this art movement led to him being exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in 1979. In 1995, he sold his archive composed of works collected from 1975-1995 to the Clarence Ward Art Library at Oberlin College.

Francis Harley was a passionate creator who worked tirelessly to express himself through many mediums. After his passing in 2017 he left behind a massive archive of artwork spanning decades. The entire portfolio has been acquired in total and is now being curated for sale to collectors, galleries, and museums. Even as the artwork is being cataloged and prepared for sale, we are learning more about the artist. Though his talent was recognized in small circles during his lifetime, the posthumous portfolio is unmistakably that of an undiscovered master.