William Franklin Draper (American, 1912-2003). "Harbor Island, Bahamas" oil on canvas, 1960s. Signed "Wm. F. Draper" on lower right. Beautifully painted in William Draper's signature expressive style with loose brushwork and a brilliant color palette, a picturesque village scene of Harbor Island (also Harbour Island) in the Bahamas. Draper invites the viewer to imagine a narrative as a woman and three children walk toward a grand set of steps while a single figure walks away from those steps in the distance. The road is dotted with colorful houses as well as lush palm and fruit trees. Perhaps this is a view of Dunmore Town, known for its charming pastel period houses, such as the 18th century Loyalist Cottage, among the oldest Loyalist Cottages in the Bahamas. Size of painting: 28.75" W x 20.125" H (73 cm x 51.1 cm) Size of frame: 30.5" W x 21.7" H (77.5 cm x 55.1 cm)

William Draper's career spanned seven decades and his subjects included a portrait of John F. Kennedy that hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. based upon an oil sketch for which the president sat in 1962. Draper was actually the only artist who painted JFK from life. Draper showed at Knoedler, the Graham Gallery, Portraits, Inc., the Far Gallery, The Findlay Galleries (New York, NY) and the Robert C. Vose Galleries (Boston, MA). His work has been included in shows at the National Portrait Gallery and the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.), The National Academy of Design (New York, NY), The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, (Boston, MA) the Fogg Art Museum, (one of the Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA), the National Gallery, (London), Salon de la Marine (Paris) and in museums in Australia. He also taught at the Art Students League of New York, and received a lifetime achievement award from the Portrait Society of America in 1999.

More on the artist's background: William Franklin Draper was born in Hopedale, Massachusetts on December 24, 1912. A child prodigy, he studied classical piano at Harvard University. He later changed his focus to fine art and studied with Charles Webster Hawthorne and Henry Hensche in Provincetown, Rhode Island. Draper also attended the National Academy of Design in New York and the Cape Cod School of Art in Massachusetts. Then he traveled to Spain and studied with Harry Zimmerman, moved on to France and attended the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere. In 1937, he moved to Boston to study sculpture with George Demetrius and also studied with Jon Corbino in beautiful Rockport, Massachusetts. In 1942, Draper joined the Navy and served as a combat artist when stationed on the Aleutian Islands and in the South Pacific. He observed and painted battle scenes on Bougainville, Guam, Saipan, and other locations, as well as genre scenes of soldiers who were not engaged in combat but rather at work and at play. National Geographic magazine reproduced 25 of his war images in four issues in 1944. In 1945, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. organized a group exhibition of works by five official war artists, including Draper. That same year the Metropolitan Museum of Art included Draper in an exhibition entitled, ''The War Against Japan.'' Draper was also featured in a PBS television show about combat artists entitled, "They Drew Fire" in May of 2000. After the war, Draper opened a studio on Park Avenue in New York City and continued to not only paint, but also play classical and jazz piano.

This piece has been searched against the Art Loss Register database and has been cleared. The Art Loss Register maintains the world’s largest database of stolen art, collectibles, and antiques.

Provenance: The William F. Draper Collection, New York City, USA, acquired via descent from the late William Franklin Draper (1912-2003)

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#152556

Oil on canvas is in excellent condition. Signed Wm. F. Draper on lower right. Draper Estate stamp on the verso. "Harbor Island, Bahamas" hand written on stretcher on verso. Some scuffs to black wooden molding of the frame. Gold-hued facing of framing presents with scuffs and minute separations at the corners. Some age wear with minor stains and fissures to the exposed wooden sections of the framing. Otherwise very nice and wired for suspension.