Brian Frances
Brian Francis Fanning (1933- 2005), who signed his name Brian Francis, was a 20th Century Irish artist working in oils and distemper, primarily on landscape subject matter.
He was born in Tralee Co Kerry but spent most summers in Birr Co Tipperary where the family had connections to the Midland Tribune newspaper. He saw his first fine art pictures in magazines sent from England by relatives, these pictures he cut out and kept carefully. He frequently cycled to Limerick to visit art exhibitions and his uncle, an art tutor at the Limerick School of Art. As a teen he designed and made sets, masks and costumes for the local amateur drama group in Tralee, also planning and running the lighting on the performance nights. He was an active member of the Music Association in Tralee. He applied to the Central College of Art in London, and was accepted as a student there on the strength of his drawings. He had exceptional talent as a draughtsman and whilst there he studied Fine Art painting and printmaking.
When he left for London, Rose, his wife to be, followed him to and they were married in a Southwark church. After studying part-time the need to earn a living for his new family became too demanding and he was forced to give up his studies and the family returned to Ireland in 1973.
He continued to paint however, building up a significant body of work. He exhibited rarely but had private followers in Ireland and the UK. During this time he had paintings accepted to the prestigious RHA Summer Exhibitions on two occasions in 1988 and 1993. Unfortunately he passed away just as he neared the completion of a set of works intended for a solo exhibition.
Practice
He researched his paintings sitting out in fields and graveyards with his sketchbook and watercolours, then worked up and finished these on a big painter’s easel at home afterwards. He worked primarily in oils and distemper (which was unusual for the times), but allowed him to achieve the palette of discords that he needed. He also worked mostly on board not canvas. He was influenced by the works of Morandi and the theories of colour psychology. He was also interested in popular science and natural history and had an extensive library of these as well as art topics.
Provenance
- Included in the 'Off the Wall' Exhibition (Morgan O'Driscoll) 2014 (Posthumously)
- Exhibited in the People's Art Exhibition, St Stephens Green, Dublin 2004
- Exhibited Royal Hibernian Academy in the 163rd Summer Exhibition 1993.[1]
- Exhibited Royal Hibernian Academy in the 158th Summer Exhibition 1988[2]
- Held in the public collection of the Department of Economics of University College Cork.
- Work held in private collections in Ireland and the UK
He was contemporary to William Crozier, Tony O'Malley, Charles Brady, Markey Robinson, Patrick Scott and Sean Scully.