A self-portrait, 1927, by Margaret Lefranc. Photo provided by Darla McCammon.

By Darla McCammon
and DeeAnna Muraski
Guest Columnists

WARSAW — This week we are exploring the art of an American painter who was also an illustrator and an American modernist: Margaret Lefranc.

Born in Brooklyn, to wealthy immigrant parents, Lefranc worked in multiple disciplines such as portraits, florals, still lifes and landscapes. Her talent was expressed in oil, watercolor, gouache and pastels, etchings and more. She was recognized in a variety of compositions.and monotypes. At age 18, she received accolades from Alfred Stieglitz and, in November 1928, at age 22, received rave reviews in La Revue Moderne, when her works were shown in Paris.

A youngest child, Lefranc missed much schooling due to poor health, but her family was made aware of her desire to become an artist by the time she was 6 years old and decided that art would one day be her chosen career. The Brooklyn home of her youth was then covered inside with all sorts of art work and inspirational art, including portraits of famous people. In New York City, Lefranc attended several art schools.

Her mother, tired from housekeeping, talked her husband, Abe, into moving into two suites at the Hotel Pennsylvania located in Manhattan. Margaret spent a lot of time alone when she wasn’t in the hands of a caregiver. World War I caused major changes in Lefranc’s family, including a move to Berlin.

Abe’s shipping business closed with the beginning of World War I when one of his tankers was torpedoed by the Germans and the survivors were shot in their lifeboats. Abe was commissioned by the U.S. government to scrap the German fleet, and the girl’s parents moved to Germany but left the children in the U.S.

Celeste, the elder, who was nine years older and married, looked after Margaret, who finished the last few months in school, and at the age of 13, traveled by freighter to join her parents in Berlin, where she contracted rheumatic fever. She spent almost a year in bed, did not speak German until six months later, and, at that time, was not exposed to the widespread hardship in the city.

Lefranc’s father, Abe, built her a small studio on the roof of their apartment building where Margaret drew in charcoals under the tutelage of a young art student who eventually told her parents to leave her alone and let her develop on her own. Once, he brought an old woman he had met on the street to pose by Lefranc’s bedside for a small amount of money. Lefranc was aware that the money from the sketch would allow the woman to buy some food. When Lefranc was well, she took classes in charcoal drawing and charcoal portraits at “Kunstschule des Westens,” the School of the West. After a year in Berlin, the Lefrancs moved to Paris, where Lefranc’s work was appreciated.

Returning to New York, to renew her passport, aged 18, Lefranc was introduced by Claude Bragdon, a close friend of her sister, to Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz. Stieglitz looked at her art very seriously and said, “Young lady, you’re very gifted. But you are also very French. Come back after you’ve lived in America for 10 years.”

Next week: The remainder of the story about famous American artist Margaret Lefranc.

Darla McCammon is an artist, columnist and author, and DeeAnna Muraski is executive director of Operation Read USA Inc. For information, call (574) 527-4044 or send an email to [email protected].