John Kelly Fitzpatrick (1888-1953)

"Kelly Fitzpatrick excelled in portraying characteristic attitudes"*. Fitzpatrick was born in rural Alabama and graduated from the Universiy of Alabama before studying in Paris at the Academie Julien. He cited Renoir and Monet as influences, but mostly Van Gogh. He brought these impressionist/post impressionist ideas home to capture the "dignity and charm of the South"*.
Fitzpatrick was renowned in the South during his lifetime, and received national acclaim and commissions during the WPA period of the 1930's. His work is represented in numerous Museums and private collections around the country, especially in collections emphasizing work from the American South.

*from the Catalog from J. Kelly Fitzpatrick a Retrospective Exhibition at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Art, 1970.