Franck Will (1900-1951) Place de la Grosse Horloge in La Rochelle oil on canvas circa 1925-1930
An oil on canvas signed and located lower right by Frank Will, French and American painter and watercolorist, representing: A view of the Place de la Grosse Horloge in La Rochelle around 1930.
Dimensions without frame: Height 60 cm - Length 73 cm.
Dimensions with frame: Height 76 cm - Length 89 cm.
In good condition on its original canvas.
Provenance: private French collection following inheritance.
Frank Will or Frank William Boggs (1900 – 1951):
French and American painter and watercolorist: Nanterre (Haut de Seine) March 13, 1900 Clichy (Seine) December 29, 1950.
He is the son of the painter Frank Boggs of American origin, Frank Will signed in his debut Frankish, William Frank, or only Frank; it was in 1919 that he definitively adopted his pseudonym.
Between 1914 and 1918, he stayed with his father on Boulevard de Clichy.
In 1916, he devoted himself more specifically to watercolor. The following year, he met Gen Paul, who would influence him in his early days, and Leprin who would become his friends. Gen Paul will take him to the famous “Chignolle”, a fanfare of local painters. Impossible to list all the addresses he had on the Butte-Montmartre.
During the war, he lived at 37 rue Pigalle, then finally settled at 1 boulevard de Clichy, above the Café des Artistes.
Pierre Bureau, in his book on Leprin tells us that Frank Will, who had inherited in 1926, the sum of 80.000 francs in cash went to "place" it at Manière, rue Caulincourt, on condition that he deduct from this sum the cost of his drinks as well as those of his friends. Needless to say, it only took a few months to exhaust the inheritance.
Denis Coisne, from Bourg en Bresse, has published the only known monograph of an artist who is often worth more than his reputation as an easy painter. It must be said that his production was abundant for a rather short career, he died at the age of 50. You could see his watercolors at Georges Petit (1929), at Terrisse, Keller and Yvonel, as well as at Henri Bureau in his Gallery at 54 rue de Rochechouart.
Montmartre and Paris were his favorite subjects, however he had also painted seascapes, boats and galleons, the Normandy coast (1922), orchestras (1927), the province, Moret sur Loing, the Paris region, Mantes (1928 and 1938), “bacchanales” (1941), and Morocco (1948).
He is buried in Père-Lachaise, near his parents.
Ref: Dictionary of painters in Montmartre Éditions Roussard.
Franck Will (1900-1951) Place de la Grosse Horloge in La Rochelle oil on canvas circa 1925-1930
An oil on canvas signed and located lower right by Frank Will French and American painter and watercolorist, depicting: A view of the Place de la Grosse Horloge in La Rochelle circa 1930.
Sizes unframed: H 23.62 In. – W 28.74 In.
Sizes with frame: H 29.92 In. – W 35.03 In.
In good condition on its original canvas.
It comes from a French private collection.
Frank Will or Frank William Boggs (1900 – 1951):
French and American painter and watercolorist: Nanterre (Haut de Seine) March 13, 1900 Clichy (Seine) December 29, 1950.
Son of American-born painter Frank Boggs, Frank Will signed his early works Franque, William Frank, or just Frank; he adopted his pseudonym definitively in 1919.
Between 1914 and 1918, he lived with his father on Boulevard de Clichy.
In 1916, he turned his attention to watercolors. The following year, he met Gen Paul, who was to influence his early work, and Leprin, who were to become his friends. Gen Paul dragged him into the famous “Chignolle”, a brass band of local painters. It's impossible to list all the addresses he had on the Butte-Montmartre.
During the war, he lived at 37 rue Pigalle, before finally settling at 1 boulevard de Clichy, above the Café des Artistes.
In his book on Leprin, Pierre Bureau recounts how Frank Will, who inherited the sum of 80,000 francs in cash in 1926, “placed” it with Manière on rue Caulincourt, from which he deducted the cost of his drinks and those of his friends. Needless to say, it took only a few months to exhaust the inheritance.
Denis Coisne, from Bourg en Bresse, has published the only known monograph on an artist who is often better than his reputation as an easy painter. It has to be said that his output was abundant for a relatively short career – he died at the age of 50. His watercolors could be seen at Georges Petit (1929), Terrisse, Keller and Yvonel, as well as at Henri Bureau's gallery at 54 rue de Rochechouart.
Montmartre and Paris were his favorite subjects, but he also painted seascapes, ships and galleons, the Normandy coast (1922), orchestras (1927), the provinces, Moret sur Loing, the Paris region, Mantes (1928 and 1938), “bacchanals » (1941), and Morocco (1948).
He is buried in Père-Lachaise, near his parents.
Ref: Dictionary of painters in Montmartre, Roussard Editions.