Susan Stuart Frackelton

{{short description|American painter}} {{Infobox artist | name = Susan Stuart Frackelton | image = Susan Stuart Frackelton.jpg | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = Susan Stuart Goodrich | birth_date = {{birth date|1848|6|5}} | birth_place = [[Milwaukee]], Wisconsin | death_date = {{death date and age|1932|4|14|1848|6|5}} | death_place = [[Kenilworth, Illinois]] | resting_place = [[Forest Home Cemetery]], Milwaukee, Wisconsin | resting_place_coordinates = {{coord|42|59|53|N|87|56|35|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | known_for = painting, [[ceramic painting]] | training = [[Henry Vianden]] | movement = | notable_works = | patrons = | awards = }}

[[File:Susan Stuart Frackelton, Oval shaped vase, circa 1894-1906.jpg|thumb|Susan Stuart Frackelton, oval shaped vase, circa 1894–1906, [[Milwaukee County Historical Society]]]] [[File:Susan Frackelton Makers Mark - 1900.jpg|thumb|200px|Susan Frackelton Makers Mark - 1900]] [[File:Susan Stuart Frackelton and George E. Ohr, Health, Wealth and Happiness, 1899.jpg|thumb|200px|Susan Stuart Frackelton and [[George E. Ohr]], ''Health, Wealth and Happiness,'' 1899]]

'''Susan Stuart Goodrich Frackelton''' (1848–1932) was an American painter, specializing in painting [[ceramic]]s. She was a leader in the [[Arts and Crafts movement]] in the United States and author of ''Tried by Fire'',<ref name="treid by fire">Susan S. Frackelton. [http://www.gustavslibrary.com/triedbyfire.htm ''Tried By Fire - A Work on China-Painting''.] New York: D. Appleton, 1886.</ref> the "most popular handbook for decorators of chinaware",<ref name="Heller pp. 191-192" /> having reached a national audience.<ref name="wisconsin painters" />

== Personal life == Susan Stuart Goodrich was born on June 5, 1848, in [[Milwaukee]], [[Wisconsin]]<ref name="passport" /> to her parents of New England birth, Edwin H. Goodrich and Mary S. Robinson Goodrich. She attended private schools in Milwaukee and [[New York City]].<ref name="Hamersly p. 651">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=KOgUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA651 Men and Women of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries]''. New York City: L.R. Hamersly; 1910. p. 651.</ref>

She married Richard Frackelton on July 19, 1869. He was born in [[London]], [[England]] and immigrated to the United States about 1857. They lived in Milwaukee, where they raised a daughter and three sons.<ref name="passport" /><ref name="Hamersly p. 651" /> Her husband ran an import business that failed. The success of Susan Frackelton's businesses, though, helped secure the financial future of their family.<ref name="punch bowl">[http://www.milwaukeehistory.net/museum/exhibits/online-exhibit/unlocking-the-vault/susan-frackelton-punch-bowl-text/ ''Susan Frackelton: Punch Bowl''.] Milwaukee County Historical Society. Retrieved May 6, 2014.</ref> Frackelton sued for divorce from her husband due to his inability to support the family and cruel and inhuman treatment, including engaging in "one series of cursing and swearing at the [[New Woman|new woman]]." By 1899 there were two adult sons, one had died by then, and an eleven-year-old daughter.<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1897/04/02/102539589.pdf "Frackleton (Frackelton) Divorce Suit."] ''New York Times.'' April 1, 1897. Retrieved May 7, 2014.</ref><ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=cCY8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA750 The Northwestern Reporter]''. West Publishing Company; 1899. pp. 750-751.</ref> Richard Frackelton died in 1907. In 1920 Frackelton lived in Chicago, Illinois and went to Haiti for a three-month holiday.<ref name="passport">Susan Stuart Frackelton. Passport issued December 26, 1919. Passport Applications, January 2, 1906–March 31, 1925. NARA Microfilm Publication M1490, 2740 rolls. General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59. National Archives, Washington, D.C.</ref> She was a member of the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]] and the Chicago Woman's Club.<ref name="Hamersly p. 651" />

She died on April 14, 1932, at her home in [[Kenilworth, Illinois]], and was buried two days later in the [[Forest Home Cemetery]] in Milwaukee.<ref name="Forest Home Cemetery">[http://www.foresthomecemetery.com/what-makes-fhc-unique/people/ ''Susan Stuart Frackelton, 1848 to 1932''], Forest Home Cemetery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Retrieved May 6, 2015.</ref><ref>Susan Stuart Frackelton - died April 14, 1932 Kenilworth, Illinois. Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916–1947."</ref>

== Career == Frackelton studied landscape painting in Milwaukee under [[Henry Vianden]].<ref name="wisconsin painters" /><ref name=MCHS /> She made baskets, lace, and jewelry. She worked with leather, carved wood, wove and painted cloth and worked with metal before focusing on ceramics in 1876. She also lectured to a wide range of audiences.<ref name="Hamersly p. 651" />

In 1883 she founded the Frackelton China and Decorating Works, where she successfully ran a [[china painting]] enterprise and provided painting instruction in downtown Milwaukee. She patented Frackelton's Dry Colors in 1894.<ref name="Heller pp. 191-192">Jules Heller; Nancy G. Heller. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=AYxmAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA191 North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary]''. Routledge; 19 December 2013. {{ISBN|978-1-135-63882-5}}. pp. 191–192.</ref><ref name=MCHS>[http://www.milwaukeehistory.net/artifacts/online-collections/susan-frackelton-collection-2/ ''Susan Frackelton Collection.''] Milwaukee County Historical Society. Retrieved May 6, 2014.</ref> Frackelton designed and patented a home kiln machine.<ref name=MCHS /> She created a particular style of [[American art pottery|art pottery]] called the Frackelton "Blue and Grey" which is blue painted ware with a grey glaze.<ref name=MCHS /> Her "Makers Mark" was a "SF" painted on the underside of each produced item.<ref>[http://www.milwaukeehistory.net/artifacts/online-collections/susan-frackelton-collection-2/stein/ ''Susan Frackelton: Stein''.] Milwaukee County Historical Society. Retrieved May 6, 2014.</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160px"> File:Susan Stuart Frackelton, pitcher, 1901.jpg|Susan Stuart Frackelton, pitcher, 1901, [[Milwaukee County Historical Society]] File:Susan Stuart Frackelton, loving cup, 1894-1906.jpg|Susan Stuart Frackelton, loving cup, 1894–1906, [[Milwaukee County Historical Society]] File:Susan Stuart Frackelton, stein, 1894-1906.jpg|Susan Stuart Frackelton, stein, 1894–1906, [[Milwaukee County Historical Society]] </gallery>

Frackelton was successful as a 19th-century woman artist, including having been the creator of the Blue and Grey pottery, painter of china and maker of book illuminations: {{Blockquote|Her innovation in those art forms helped elevate American decorative arts to a standard of excellence and, at the same time, dispelled any myths about women being unable to rise above the rank of an amateur artist. Akin to women of today, she used her talents as an artist and entrepreneur to break through the bonds of traditional gender roles, both in the art world and society... The medals and awards that she won dispelled any notions that a woman could compete on a national and international stage in the ceramic arts.<ref name="punch bowl" />}}

In 1892 she founded the National League of Mineral Painters, which included members [[Adelaïde Alsop Robineau]] and [[Mary Chase Perry]].<ref name="Heller pp. 191-192" /> Frackelton was president of a local association of professional artists, that merged into the ''Milwaukee Art Institute'', and at last into the [[Milwaukee Art Museum]]. She was also president of the ''Wisconsin School of Design''.<ref name="wisconsin painters">[http://www.artinwisconsin.com/public/article_full.php?user_id=114 ''2005 Wisconsin Visual Art Lifetime Achievement Awards : Susan Frackelton''], Wisconsin Visual Arts. Wisconsin Painters & Sculptors Inc. Retrieved May 6, 2014.</ref>

At the [[World's Columbian Exposition|1893 World's Fair]] she exhibited her salt-glazed ware<ref name="Heller pp. 191-192" /> and won nine awards for sets of her works.<ref name="wisconsin painters" /><ref name="punch bowl" /> She won other medals at exhibitions in Europe and the United States in the 1880s and 1890s.<ref name="wisconsin painters" /> [[Margherita of Savoy]], the [[Kingdom of Italy|Italian]] [[Queen consort|queen]] congratulated her via letter to her good works and arranged for Frackelton to present her works to the court.<ref name="WillardLivermore1893">Frances Elizabeth Willard; Mary Ashton Rice Livermore. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=zXEEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA298 A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life]''. Moulton; 1893. p. 298.</ref>

In 1899 she jointly made pottery with ceramic artist [[George E. Ohr]].<ref>Richard D. Mohr. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=IXuBucEMRnkC&pg=PA145 Pottery, Politics, Art: George Ohr and the Brothers Kirkpatrick]''. University of Illinois Press; 2003. {{ISBN|978-0-252-02789-5}}. p. 145.</ref> At the [[Exposition Universelle (1900)|1900 Paris Exposition Universelle]] she exhibited her [[delftware]]s. Her works are among the [[Wisconsin Historical Society]],<ref name="Heller pp. 191-192" /> [[Milwaukee Public Museum]], [[Milwaukee County Historical Society]] and [[Sinsinawa Mound]].<ref name=MCHS />

In 2005 she posthumously was awarded the Wisconsin Visual Art Lifetime Achievement Award "due to her ground-breaking work with ceramics, china painting and the art pottery movement of the late 19th century."<ref name="wisconsin painters" />

== References == {{reflist}}

==Further reading== * Lynette Korenic. ''The Decorative Fire of Susan S. Frackelton: China Painting, Art Pottery, and Book Illumination''. University of California—Santa Barbara; 2006. * Patricia Marks. ''Susan S. Frackelton: Inventive Artist in Milwaukee's Past''. 1995. * George Weedon. (1975). ''Susan S. Frackleton and the American Arts and Crafts Movement.'' Milwaukee: Milwaukee Box Press.

== External links == {{commons category}} * [http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/museum/exhibits/frackelton/index.asp Susan S. Frackelton (1848-1932)], Pottery of Frackelton * [http://www.milwaukeehistory.net/artifacts/online-collections/susan-frackelton-collection-2/ Susan S.Frackleton Collection at the MCHS]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frackelton, Susan Stuart}} [[Category:Porcelain painters]] [[Category:Artists from Milwaukee]] [[Category:1848 births]] [[Category:1932 deaths]] [[Category:Painters from Wisconsin]] [[Category:19th-century American painters]] [[Category:20th-century American painters]] [[Category:20th-century American women painters]] [[Category:19th-century American women painters]] [[Category:People from Kenilworth, Illinois]] [[Category:Burials at Forest Home Cemetery]]