Snowy Peaks
1977
Watercolor on Watercolor Paper
15.5"x14.25", unframed
Signed and dated on reverse in ink
Excellent Condition- minor wear consistent with age and history
Frank J. Bette (1903-1999)
Frank painted promotional signs for his uncle’s dry goods store and later began working with wood. He attended classes at the American Academy of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago and he joined the Chicago No-Jury Society of Artists. At that time, his work included landscapes and portraits as well as ventures into vividly colored fantasy compositions.
In 1941, his oil painting “Untitled Chicago Landscape” achieved First Mention in the Chicago Daily Times. Frank’s trip to the Grand Canyon in 1941 made a lasting impression. The area’s power and natural beauty became the foundation of his Grand Canyon Dance series. He began in 1942 - the Archaic Grand Canyon Dance painting was first – and, for the next 20 years, he continued painting others.
Frank’s first job was refinishing and repairing antique furniture for Gump’s in downtown San Francisco.
Frank opened his first shop on Central Avenue near Crab Cove. While business was financially tight at first, during 1952-53 he attended figure- and life-drawing classes at California College of Arts and Crafts.
As his business prospered it allowed him the freedom to paint, draw, and sculpt. In the early 1950s he moved to the Victorian at 1601 Paru Street and lived in what is, today, the Signature Gallery while conducting business in the Main Gallery. He spent his free time painting en plein air. He had a particular affinity for trees and for the landscapes of Mount Diablo.
Upon his death in 1999 at the age of 99, he bequeathed his house as “a place for meetings, readings, showings, and other creative doings.”
