Durr Freedley

{{Short description|American painter}} {{Infobox person | honorific_prefix = | name = Durr Freedley | other_names = Jesse Jacob Friedley, Durr Friedley | honorific_suffix = | image =  | alt = | caption = | occupation = Artist | native_name = | native_name_lang = | birth_name = Jesse Jacob Friedley | birth_date = {{Birth date|1888|6|21}} | birth_place = Indianapolis, Indiana | death_date = {{Death date and age|1938|3|23|1888|6|21}} | death_place = Arlington, Massachusetts | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates =  | education = | alma_mater = Harvard University | known_for = Mural on the interior of Newport's Seamen's Institute Chapel | notable_works = | style = | movement = Arts and Crafts; Art Deco | awards =  | website =  | module = }}

'''Durr Freedley''' (also known as '''Durr Friedley''') was a portrait painter and muralist who enjoyed a noted but brief career in Newport, Rhode Island before his death in an automobile accident. He is perhaps best known for his mural on the interior of the Memorial Chapel of the Seamen's Church Institute of Newport.

==Personal life== The artist was born as Jesse Jacob Friedley in Indianapolis, Indiana. He earned his degree in Fine Arts from Harvard University in 1911.<ref name=MMAarchives /> During his time at Harvard, Freedley was editor of the Harvard Lampoon.<ref name=NAM />

At some point after 1918<ref name=MMAarchives /> and before 1932,<ref name=RIPR /> Friedley changed the spelling of his surname to Freedley.

Freedley, who was homosexual,<ref name=ProJo112015 /> never married or had children.

==Early career== Freedley was a staff member at the Metropolitan Museum of Art between 1911 and 1917.<ref name=MMAarchives /> His positions included Assistant Curator and Acting Curator.<ref name=MMAarchives /> In 1917 Freedley was offered the post of curator when Wilhelm Valentiner resigned to join the German Army; he declined,<ref name=MMAarchives /> and spent World War I painting camouflage on war planes.<ref name=MMAarchives />

==Paris== After the war Freedley moved to Paris, where he set up a portrait studio and socialized with artists and writers including Man Ray, Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway.<ref name=ProJo112015 /> Among his works in Paris were drawings and paintings of performers at the famous ''La Revue Negre<ref name=ProJo112015 />''.

==Newport== Freedley was invited by socialite Mrs Hamilton Fish Webster<ref name=ProJo112015 /> to come to Newport in 1932.<ref name=RIPR /> She offered him the opportunity to design and paint the interior of the Memorial Chapel of the Seamen's Church Institute of Newport,<ref name=ProJo112015 /> and continued to be a patron of his career.<ref name=NAM />

Freedley remained in Newport until the end of his life, painting portraits of Newport socialites such as Maud Howe Elliott.<ref name=ProJo112015 /> During this time, Freedley is known to have traveled to Mississippi to paint portraits of black sharecroppers and field hands.<ref name=ProJo112015 />

==Death and burial== Freedley was killed at age 46 in an automobile accident on March 23, 1938, in Lexington, Massachusetts.<ref name=NorthAdams /> He broke both legs and was rushed to Symmes hospital in Arlington,<ref name=NorthAdams /> and died there several hours later.<ref name=Mercury25Mar1938 /> It is possible that Freedley was the victim of an anti-gay attack.<ref name=ProJo112015 /> His body was shipped to his mother in Indianapolis for burial.<ref name=Mercury25Mar1938 />

==Posthumous exhibitions== * Memorial exhibition at the John Herron Art Institute (now Indianapolis Museum of Art, November 1–30, 1938.<ref name=MMAarchives /><ref name=IMA1938 /> * Memorial exhibition at the Walker Galleries in New York City in 1939.<ref name=MMAarchives /> * "Durr Freedley: Newport's Forgotten Artist," Newport Museum of Art, September 26, 2015 - January 18, 2016.<ref name=NAM /><ref name=RIPR />

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=NorthAdams>{{cite news|publisher=The North Adams Transcript|date=23 March 1938|page=1|location=North Adams, Mass|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/54743935|accessdate=17 December 2015|title=Seaman Loses Life in Motor Accident}}</ref> <ref name=Mercury25Mar1938>{{cite news|publisher=The Newport Mercury|page=2|title=Body of Durr Freedley Sent to Indianapolis|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/16372873|date=25 March 1938|accessdate=17 December 2015|location=Newport, RI}}</ref> <ref name=ProJo112015>{{cite news|publisher=The Providence Journal|last1=Van Siclen|first1=Bill|title=Newport Art Museum showcasing the exquisite work of portrait artist Durr Freedley|date=22 November 2015|accessdate=17 December 2015|location=Providence, RI|url=http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20151122/ENTERTAINMENTLIFE/151129954}}</ref> <ref name=IMA1938>{{cite web|publisher=Indianapolis Museum of Art|title=Durr Freedley: Memorial Exhibition of Paintings; November 1-November 30, 1938|url=http://www.imamuseum.org/exhibition/durr-freedley-memorial-exhibition-paintings|location=Indianapolis, Indiana|quote="November 1-November 30, 1938; Durr Freedley was born in Indianapolis in 1888 and lived until March 23, 1938. He is best known for his portraits. Exhibition included 26 paintings and 6 drawings"}}</ref> <ref name=RIPR>{{cite news|last1=Hinman|first1=Chuck|title=Rhode Island Artscape: Newport's Forgotten Artist|url=http://ripr.org/post/rhode-island-artscape-newports-forgotten-artist|accessdate=17 December 2015|publisher=Rhode Island Public Radio|date=24 September 2015}}</ref> <ref name=MMAarchives>{{cite web|last1=Harmon|first1=Brigid|title=The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives Durr Friedley Records, 1906-1918|url=http://www.libmma.org/digital_files/archives/Durr_Friedley_records_b1717476.pdf|date=December 2009|website=Metropolitan Museum of Art|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives|accessdate=17 December 2015}}</ref> <ref name=NAM>{{cite web|title=Reviving Durr Freedley; Newport's Forgotten Artist|url=http://www.newportartmuseum.org/Exhibitions/Now-on-View/Reviving-Durr-Freedley|website=Newport Art Museum|accessdate=17 December 2015|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151219010655/http://www.newportartmuseum.org/Exhibitions/now-on-view/Reviving-Durr-Freedley|archivedate=19 December 2015}}</ref> }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freedley, Durr}} Category:Artists from Newport, Rhode Island Category:1888 births Category:1938 deaths Category:Painters from Rhode Island Category:Painters from Indiana Category:20th-century American painters Category:American male painters Category:American LGBTQ artists Category:LGBTQ people from Indiana Category:The Harvard Lampoon alumni Category:20th-century American male artists