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Fonchen Lord (1911-1993) Central Florida Artist

“Fonchen” Florence Usher Lord (1911-93) was a central Florida artist best known for “Op Art” paintings and sculptures from the 1970s until her death. These works created optical effects for the observers, using geometric forms and shapes ranging from subtle to disorienting. She combined geometric forms with color theory working to create optical kinetic works that captured the eye. Lord’s undergraduate degree was from Radcliffe College (‘33) in the days when it was the sister college to the male counterpart - Harvard. Starting in 1963 was the beginning of combining the two neighboring Cambridge colleges. Her graduate degree was in Art History from Washington University (‘35), St. Louis, MO. She moved to Lakeland, Florida in 1949 with her husband who was instrumental in building communities between Tampa and Orlando.

The sketch below is from the 1950s, clearly with a premier education, she would have been familiar with other abstraction artists working during those early years. It could easily be compared to the 1950s ink and color sketches by the famed Helen Frankenthaler. Likewise, it also could be compared to the Texas regionalist Zanne Hochberg, all three women were doing early American abstraction.

Framed Ink Sketch
Sketch Size Approx:  12" X 8"
Signed LLC: Lord
Comparison Examples:

Helen Frankenthaler Sketch
For Educational Comparison Analysis under the Copyright Act

Zanne Hochberg, AP - 1992
Calligraphic Lithograph
Educational Comparison Analysis 

Little has been documented on Lord’s early sketches, but her early abstract paintings with heavy brush strokes in forms of letters, such as W’s, M’s, V’s, and L’s; with areas of thinned out paint are different from this early sketch. We are featuring this sketch to broaden the depth and scholarship of Ms. Lord’s work. Ann Gurley Rogers is one of the foremost writers on Lord’s work, however this sketch will provide inventive rethinking of Lord’s early works, and will highlight an example of her work beyond her known masterpieces. Her abstract paintings and op art works have been exhibited at the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts and at the Polk Museum of Art (Lakeland), as well as the Melvin Art Gallery at Florida Southern College.

Example of Sketch Signature: Lord
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©2022. Waller-Yoblonsky Fine Art is a research collaborative, working to track artists that got lost and overlooked due to time, changing styles, race, gender and/or sexual orientation. Our frequent blogs highlight artists and art movements that need renewed attention with improved information for the researcher and art collectors. The photos in this blog were created by Mr. Waller and all written materials were obtained by the Fair Use Section 107, of The Copyright Act.




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