# Frede Vidar

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**Frede Vidar** (June 6, 1911 – January 12, 1967) was a Danish-born American visual artist, illustrator, and educator.[1] He was known for murals, paintings, and prints, was a [war artist](/source/War_artist) during [World War II](/source/World_War_II), and he was one of the twenty-six artists who painted murals at [Coit Tower](/source/Coit_Tower) in [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco).

## Early life and education

Frede Vidar was born in [Askø](/source/Ask%C3%B8) in [Lolland Municipality](/source/Lolland_Municipality), Denmark.[2] He moved to San Francisco as a teenager, and graduated from the [High School of Commerce](/source/High_School_of_Commerce_(San_Francisco)).[3]

Vidar attended the California School of Fine Arts ([San Francisco Art Institute](/source/San_Francisco_Art_Institute)), the [Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts](/source/Royal_Danish_Academy_of_Fine_Arts),[2] and the [Academy of Fine Arts, Munich](/source/Academy_of_Fine_Arts,_Munich).[4] Vidar studied under muralist [Diego Rivera](/source/Diego_Rivera).[2] He continued his studies at the [École des Beaux-Arts](/source/%C3%89cole_des_Beaux-Arts), and [Académie Julian](/source/Acad%C3%A9mie_Julian); and in 1933, he studied under French artists [Henri Matisse](/source/Henri_Matisse), and [Raoul Dufy](/source/Raoul_Dufy).[3][5] He won the Chaloner Prize Foundation's biennial prize in 1935 to study art for three years in Europe.[5]

## Career

In 1934, he completed the mural "Department Store" at Coit Tower, commissioned by the [Public Works of Art Project](/source/Public_Works_of_Art_Project).[6][7] In 1936, Vidar became engaged to Suzanne Austin Sheets from Montclair, New Jersey, the daughter of Harold F. Sheets.[8]

Vidar exhibited in the [Golden Gate International Exposition](/source/Golden_Gate_International_Exposition) in 1939, on [Treasure Island](/source/Treasure_Island,_San_Francisco).[1] In 1940, he painted a mural “River Landscape” at the post office in [Shelton, Connecticut](/source/Shelton,_Connecticut), a [United States Department of the Treasury](/source/United_States_Department_of_the_Treasury) project through the New Deal [Section of Painting and Sculpture](/source/Section_of_Painting_and_Sculpture).[9][10]

During [World War II](/source/World_War_II), Vidar served in the [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army) as a [combat artist](/source/War_artist) starting in 1942, and he left in 1946 with the rank of [major](/source/Major_(rank)).[2] In 1945 during his enlistment, he was awarded a [Guggenheim Fellowship](/source/Guggenheim_Fellowship).[11] After the war, he relocated to New Jersey.

He taught at [Washington University in St. Louis](/source/Washington_University_in_St._Louis), the [University of Wisconsin](/source/University_of_Wisconsin%E2%80%93Madison), the [New York School of Interior Decoration](/source/New_York_School_of_Interior_Decoration) (now [New York School of Interior Design](/source/New_York_School_of_Interior_Design)), the [Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art](/source/Newark_School_of_Fine_and_Industrial_Art), and starting in the 1950s at the [University of Michigan](/source/University_of_Michigan).[5]

Vidar died on January 12, 1967, in Ann Arbor.[1][5][12] His work can be found in museum collections, including at the [Smithsonian American Art Museum](/source/Smithsonian_American_Art_Museum),[13] [Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam](/source/Stedelijk_Museum_Amsterdam),[14] and the [Whitney Museum of American Art](/source/Whitney_Museum).[15]

## See also

- [List of Federal Art Project artists](/source/List_of_Federal_Art_Project_artists)
- [List of United States post office murals](/source/List_of_United_States_post_office_murals)

## References

1. Falk, Peter H. (1999). [*Who Was Who in American Art 1564–1975: 400 Years of Artists in America*](https://books.google.com/books?id=1MYRAQAAMAAJ). Sound View Press. p. 3408. ISBN 978-0-932087-55-3. – via [Google Books](/source/Google_Books)

1. Sullivan, Gordon R. (1991). [*Portrait of an Army*](https://books.google.com/books?id=eOjT0jcvYvsC&pg=PA175). Center of Military History, United States Army. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-16-031008-9.

1. ["Frede Vidar"](https://kiosk.sfartscommission.org/artist-maker/info?records=60&query=Artist_Maker=%22670%22&artistName=Vidar,%20Frede). *San Francisco Arts Commission*. Retrieved 2024-10-05.

1. [*University of Illinois Competitive Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting*](https://books.google.com/books?id=PPU1AAAAMAAJ&q=Frede+Vidar+1911). [University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign](/source/University_of_Illinois_Urbana-Champaign), College of Fine and Applied Arts. 1952.

1. ["Frede Vidar, 55, Art professor At University of Michigan, Dies"](https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1967/01/12/90259735.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times), TimesMachine*. January 12, 1967. [ISSN 0362-4331](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2024-10-05.

1. ["Department Store"](https://kiosk.sfartscommission.org/objects-1/info/100?records=60&sort=0&objectName=Department%20Store). *San Francisco Arts Commission*. Retrieved 2024-10-05.

1. Veronico, Nicholas A.; Morello, Gina F.; Casadonte, Brett A.; Collins, Gilda (2014). [*Depression-Era Murals of the Bay Area*](https://books.google.com/books?id=agwaAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA15). Arcadia Publishing. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-4671-3144-5.

1. ["Suzanne A. Sheets Fiancee of Artist"](https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/09/27/issue.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times), TimesMachine*. September 27, 1936. [ISSN 0362-4331](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2024-10-05.

1. Cahill, Holger (1936). *New Horizons in American Art*. Barr, Alfred H. Jr. (ed.). New York: [Museum of Modern Art](/source/Museum_of_Modern_Art). p. 148. [OCLC 501632161](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/501632161)

1. ["23 Artists Listed To Do P.O. Murals"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/democrat-and-chronicle/10461826/). *Democrat and Chronicle*. 1939-09-17. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-10-05. – via Newspapers.com.

1. ["Frede Vidar"](https://www.gf.org/fellows/frede-vidar/). *John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation*. Retrieved 2024-10-05.

1. ["Services Held in Michigan For Artist Frede Vidar"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner/29549159/). *[The San Francisco Examiner](/source/The_San_Francisco_Examiner)*. 1967-01-18. p. 54. Retrieved 2024-10-05. – via Newspapers.com.

1. ["Frede Vidar"](https://americanart.si.edu/artist/frede-vidar-7354). *[Smithsonian American Art Museum](/source/Smithsonian_American_Art_Museum)*. Retrieved 2024-10-05.

1. ["Frede Vidar"](https://www.stedelijk.nl/nl/collectie/11041-frede-vidar-compositie) (in Dutch). *Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam*. Retrieved 2024-10-05.

1. ["Frede Vidar"](https://whitney.org/artists/9036). *Whitney.org*. Retrieved 2024-10-05.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Frede Vidar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frede_Vidar) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frede_Vidar?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.