The world of Western Art has lost a great talent and leader.
Internationally known
artist, Frank C. McCarthy passed away from lung cancer, Sunday,
November 17,
2002 at his home of 30 years in the beautiful red rocks of Sedona,
Arizona.
Frank McCarthy was born in New York City in 1924. He studied
at the Art Students
League in New York City during the summers starting at the age
of 14. He was a
graduate of Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York.
Frank McCarthy began his art career as a commercial illustrator.
He painted
illustrations for most of the paperback book publishers, magazines,
movie
companies, and advertisements. He created works that became
posters for such
movies as the James Bond series. Frank McCarthy's talents were
highly sought
after by art directors enabling him to work as a free lance
illustrator for many
years. His art career spanned over 50 years, beginning with
a request for a
western cover for a magazine by an art director. He left the
world of commercial
art in 1968, and began his fine art career after moving to Sedona,
Arizona.
Frank McCarthy's dynamic paintings frequently featured the people
of the west
with a special emphasis on the Plains Indian, mountain men,
and cavalry that
made up the lore and lure of the old west. Appropriately entitled
"The Dean of
Western Action Painters", Frank McCarthy's art was unsurpassed
for its motion,
drama, and absolute attention to accuracy and detail. Highly
collected, and
frequently imitated, Frank McCarthy's works were treasured throughout
the world
as classic examples of contemporary Western Art.
Retrospective showings of Frank McCarthy's paintings have been
held at the
Museum of the Southwest, Midland, Texas; the R.W. Norton Museum
in
Shreveport, La.; the Thomas Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Ok.;
and in 1992, at the
Cowboy Artist of America Museum in Kerrville, Texas. Frank McCarthy
was invited
to join the prestigious Cowboy Artists of America organizaton
in 1975 and was an
active member in the CAA group for 23 years. He was inducted
into the Society of
Illustrators Hall of Fame in 1997
Five books of his paintings have been published-1 hardbound,
3 softbound, and 1
leather limited edition book. Over 100 limited edition art prints
of his paintings
have been published since 1974 by Greenwich Workshop, Shelton,
Ct.
Survivors include: children by his late wife Mary Farendorf-
daughter Mary Jean
McCarthy Tyll of Dallas, Texas and son Kevin C. McCarthy of
Durango, Colorado;
six grandchildren; brother Henry and sister Gertude Shevlin
both of Florida; and
wife Cynthia Bennett of Sedona, Arizona. Cremation has taken
place and private
services were held. Memorial donations may be made to the Frank
and Cynthia
McCarthy Scholarship fund at Little Big Horn College, P.O. Box
370, Crow Agency,
Mt. 59022.