"I want to live the simple life and paint God's great out-of-doors--His skies and trees--and become a part of it--live with the trees and let my fancy--my soul sail the skies with the clouds and my hand set down what my soul has seen that I may take others where I have been--that they may feel as I have felt." Francis Speight
Barbour Strickland and Maury York are preparing a book on artist Francis Speight titled Francis Speight and the Poetry of Place.
The purpose of the book is to provide a major contribution to scholarship on the artist and to add to the body of greater knowledge on American art of the 20th century.
The book will contain an extensive biography, critical essays on his art and his place in 20th century American art history, as well as images of his work.
It will be the definitive book on Francis Speight. It will build the reputation and scholarly comprehension of his work as one of the significant artists of the 20th century.
We encourage those collectors who own original works by Francis Speight to contact us. Simply click on the "Submit Work" tab above.
About Barbour Strickland
C. Barbour Strickland, III is the former director of the Greenville Museum of Art in Greenville, N.C., a position he held for 14 years until his retirement in 2006. During his tenure at the Museum he established the Francis Speight and Sarah Blakeslee Gallery as well as edited and published the book The Privilege to Paint: The Lives of Francis Speight and Sarah Blakeslee.
Maurice C. York is assistant director for special collections in the J.Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C. He earned master's degrees in history and library science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 2002 the Greenville Museum of Art published his book The Privilege to Paint: The Lives of Francis Speight and Sarah Blakeslee, which was based on extensive archival research and oral history interviews.
Photograph: Francis Speight painting at Cinnaminson Lane, Roxborough, PA, c. 1939
Francis Speight and the Poetry of Place 815-A Dickinson Ave. Greenville, NC 27834