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Austin Montgomery Purves, Jr. (December 31, 1900 – March 15, 1977) was a twentieth century American artist and educator. His works include painting, mosaic, fresco and sculpture. He had a distinguished career as an arts educator.〔 Among his most notable works were the mural decoration of the World War II Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial battle monument in Draguignan, France;〔 bas reliefs for the S.S. America, the S.S. United States, and Grace Line ships ''Santa Rosa'' and ''Santa Paula''; mosaic work located in the East Apse of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC.;〔 the decorative map in the Boston Federal Reserve Bank; and the spandrel sculpture on the barracks at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York.〔 == Life == Purves was born on December 31, 1900 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, son of Austin M. Purves, Sr., a financier and patron of the arts, and Betsey Preston Coleman Purves. He graduated from the Germantown Friends School in 1918. He wanted to be an artist from early childhood, later studying art at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Julian Academy in Paris, France.〔 He studied fresco painting at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau, France and traveled in Scandinavia, France and Italy, studying frescos in churches and municipal buildings. He received an award from the Department of Beaux Arts of France and an honorable mention from the Architectural League of New York for frescoes that he painted in a 13th-century church in Montarlot, France.〔 Returning to the United States after his studies, he married and lived in New York, where he had a studio on the Lower East Side. He married his second cousin, Ellen Tybout Wood. Though her family was originally from Delaware, she grew up on Long Island. During his early married life, he worked for the design department at R H Macy's for a year and then found work painting murals for private homes.〔 He became the Director of the Day and Night Schools at Cooper Union from 1931-1938, remaining for seven years. The 1934 Jubilee Issue of the Cooper Union Yearbook held this dedication: "To Austin Purves, Jr., Art Director of The Cooper Union, this Jubilee Issue of ''The Cable'' is respectfully dedicated as an appreciation of his distinguished service to the Institution, and with gratitude for his kindly helpfulness in the preparation of this volume." He continued to paint for private customers. He did several illuminations of prayers and painted an alms box for a church in Philadelphia. Purves' parents were friends of Maxfield Parrish and collected his work.〔 Parrish became an artistic mentor to Purves from an early age. A correspondence started between the two artists when Purves was eleven years old and continued until Parrish was ninety. The family moved to East Litchfield, Connecticut in 1936 as a result of Purves’ friendship with Ernest Howe, a student at Yale School of Art, where Purves taught in the summer during the 1930s. Ernest Howe offered Purves a place to stay in Litchfield during the summer months. Later, Purves purchased a house on Wheeler Road in East Litchfield and made a studio in a converted barn behind his house. He hired young art students to help with large jobs. The house initially had no electricity or central heating to start. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Austin M. Purves, Jr.」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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