Rossier's Art Gallery

October

Banks of the Marne

Frederick McDuff, an American Impressionist, is internationally renowned for his landscapes, especially parks and beach scenes. Three of his paintings are in the private collection of former President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan. Ethel Kennedy is also a collector, as is Burt Reynolds. His paintings, prized by collectors in the United States, England, France, Kuwait, Italy and Japan draw crowds wherever he exhibits.

McDuff is fascinated with the use of sunlight. He filters it through deep green treetops towering above peaceful parks. Flower-bordered pathways, fountains and benches beckon us into a world of solitude, a place where one can sit, dream and contemplate. He is equally famous for his beach scenes of the Brittany coast with red and white tents, umbrellas, and excursionists with their pets, clear blue skies, fleecy clouds, and yellow sands, where, like his park scenes, modern viewers find escape from the hectic pace of their daily lives.

Summer Souvenirs

Tide Pools II

Balloons

The Balloon Lady

Parc Monceau

Summer Elegance

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, of Scots-Irish ancestry, McDuffs interest in painting led him to New York in the 1950's, after a stint in the army. He studied briefly at the Art Student League but was convinced that experience would serve him better. What sharpened his visual sensibilities were visits to museums where his careful eye analyzed seventeenth and eighteenth century French, English, and Italian landscape artists, as well as artists through the Impressionist Period, in particular Corot, Pissaro, Monet, and Boudin.

In his travels to France, McDuff sketches scenes that will later be painted in his studio. There, memory and imagination take over. "I recall the beaches of the Brittany coast, the parks of Paris, Monet's house and garden at Giverny," he says. "Remembered reality is an endless source of inspiration."

In the early 1960's, McDuff moved from New York to Washington, D.C., where he was artist in residence at the prestigious Venable Neslage Gallery. McDuffs work hangs in many embassies and international collections in Paris, La Paz and at the State Department in Washington, D.C. His work is also part of many corporate collections including those of Occidental petroleum and TRW Systems. McDuff currently resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.