Frank V. Dudley
| Frank Virgil Dudley | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 14, 1868 Delavan, Wisconsin |
| Died | March 5, 1957 (aged 88) Chicago, Illinois |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Art Institute of Chicago |
| Known for | Landscape Painting, |
Frank V. Dudley (November 14, 1868 – March 5, 1957) was an American landscape painter, known especially for his paintings of scenes in the Indiana Dunes.
Dudley was born in Delavan, Wisconsin, but he spent most of his life in the Chicago area. His studio was located in what is now the Indiana Dunes State Park. Not only did he frequently paint the dunes, he was a significant figure in dunes conservation, helping to successfully advocate for the formation of a park to preserve the Indiana lake shore. He won the Logan Medal of the arts
Born of deaf parents on November 14, 1868, he was the eldest of three brothers. In 1887, he left Delavan, Wisconsin to study art in Chicago. He married Haley Boxwell, and a son, Paul (1898) was born several years later. To support his family, he took commissions to color portrait photographs in crayon and watercolor. His first exhibition was in 1902 at the Art Institute of Chicago. Haley died suddenly in 1904. After her death, Dudley concentrated on landscape painting. In 1905, he was awarded the Art Institute’s Young Fortnightly Prize. His brother Clarence also exhibited a series of fine art photographs 1905. These photographs also highlighted the dunes.
In 1911, Frank began to hike the Dunes with his painting equipment. He spent most of his professional life promoting the preservation of the Indiana Dunes. The desires to ‘Save the Dunes’ began in the progressive era of Midwestern politics, centered in Chicago. Industrial development was spreading along the shores of Lake Michigan towards the Dunes In 1913 Dudley married for a second time, to Maida Lewis. The trips into the dunes consisted of finding select vantage points from which to capture the scene on his easel in an all’aperto in a manner of broad, sweeping brushstrokes and textural contrasts of broken color. Maida described her husband’s artistic sensitivity: "The Dunes were irresistible, fascinating to him. They were wild and majestic and fresh. He painted them in all seasons and communicated emotion in them to others." (Chicago Tribune, 3 September 1967; quoting Mrs. F.V. Dudley).
Industrial development from Chicago was fast moving east along the Lake Michigan shoreline into the Dunes. The United States Steel Corporation laid out Gary, Indiana in 1906. Jens Jensen, an advocate for the Forest Preserves of Chicago, began leading a series of ‘Saturday Afternoon Walking Trips.’ Beginning in 1908, these trips traveled east of Gary to Mt. Tom. This is the highest of the Indiana Dunes. These hikers joined together as the Prairie Club, with Jens Jensen and Frank’s brother Dudley as its first directors.
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