9 a.m., April 6, 2010----During his long and prolific career, artist Frank E. Schoonover formed many ties with the University of Delaware, including painting the official likeness of UD's founder, the Rev. Francis Alison.

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The Schoonover-UD connection was recently enhanced when UD alum Louise Schoonover Smith and her brother John Schoonover, grandchildren of the artist, presented University President Patrick Harker with a copy of their new work, the Frank E. Schoonover Catalogue Raisonné, during a ceremony held Thursday, April 1, in Hullihen Hall.

Coauthored with LeeAnn Dean, and copublished by the Frank E. Schoonover Fund and Oak Knoll Press, the two-volume work showcases a career that spanned six decades during which the New Jersey native produced more than 2,000 illustrations and over 500 landscapes and other works of art.

The University's Permanent Collection includes 10 works by Schoonover, a member of the Brandywine School that was founded by his teacher and mentor, famed American illustrator and author Howard Pyle.

Smith graduated fro UD in 1963 with a bachelor's degree in political science, the same year that her grandfather Frank E. Schoonover was awarded an Honorary Degree of Master of Arts, in appreciation for “contributions to the development and the love of art in Delaware.”

The idea for Frank E. Schoonover Catalogue Raisonné, Smith added, began in 1999, when she and her brothers John and Courtland were discussing the breadth of their grandfather's works and his influence on his students.

“We looked at his body of work and realized it needed to be thoroughly researched and compiled,” said Smith, who was president of the Student Government Association and went by the nickname “Fibbie” during her undergraduate days at UD. “Having been a certified teacher in New Jersey, I retired early to spearhead the book project.”

Harker, who accepted the gift with Susan Brynteson, May Morris Director of Libraries at UD, and Janis Tomlinson, director of University Museums, said that the gift evidences the long and positive relationship between UD and the Schoonover family.

“This continues that relationship and reflects on a strong tradition of championing American art at UD,” Harker said. “Adding this magnificent book to our UD Library and the University Museums will help us further strengthen our efforts in this area and enhance our collection of American art.”

Smith, who thanked the University for its longtime support of the Schoonover collection and its commitment to American art, said several surprises emerged in putting together the book, which contains over 3,000 images from Schoonover's earliest sketches to his last easel painting.

“I think one of the biggest surprises, was how many paintings and drawings he gifted to people for weddings, birthdays and anniversaries,” Smith said. “He also kept meticulous records in his daybook entries, beginning with the first illustrations for the book, Jersey Boy in The Revolution (1899), a commission he get through his teacher and mentor Howard Pyle. Frank continued this practice of record keeping throughout his lifetime, documenting almost every painting, including date, size, title, the medium he worked in and the people who modeled for him.”

Besides the joy of researching for the book, Smith said she also was thrilled by the number of collectors and supporters of the project who responded to her inquiries about a particular Schoonover painting or drawing.

“To me it has been a joy and a revelation to do this research about my grandfather and bring it to the public eye,” Smith said. “We have come to realize how much he was loved as a member of society.”

Many of Schoonover's works can be found at the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington, an institution that evolved from the Wilmington Sketch Club, an organization established by the artist in 1925.

Smith said putting the book together also made her realize that her grandfather's art is more popular now than ever among collectors and the art-loving public.

“Illustration for magazines is something that pretty much ended at the beginning of the 1940s, when photography took over,” Smith said. “Today, there is a renewed interest and appreciation for illustrative works.”

When the demand for illustrators waned in the 1940s, Schoonover became a teacher and worked on en plein air, or landscape paintings, Smith said.

“He would drive his car over the Delaware River up in the Bushkill area of Pennsylvania, where he helped expose harsh working conditions endured by children in mining operations and silk mills,” Smith said. “He lived with a coal miner and went down into the coal mines with the children to document these social ills.”

Smith also noted how Schoonover and other members of the Brandywine School, including Stanley Arthurs and N.C. Wyeth, helped to carry the banner of their mentor and early teacher Howard Pyle.

“My grandfather loved the man he called 'Mr. Pyle' as a friend and as a devoted student,” Smith said. “When my grandfather was a child living with his grandmother in Trenton, he would copy drawings of Howard Pyle. When he was ready to begin studies in becoming a Presbyterian minister, he read that Howard Pyle was going to teach a class at Drexel. That changed his career goals as Frank studied with him and was one of 10 honor students chosen to go to study with Pyle during the summer at Chadds Ford. The rest, as they say, is history.”

The Frank E. Schoonover Catalogue Raisonné, Smith noted, also represents nine years of research and visits to many states and places like the Cowboy Hall of Fame, the National Museum of Western Art, the Gene Autry Museum in California and the Everheart Museum, as well as the support of many nonprofit organizations and foundations.

“Personally, I have been very grateful for the support the University has given to the project,” Smith said. “I feel privileged to have been involved and to realize the importance of Frank Schoonover and the work he did.”

Article by Jerry Rhodes
Photos by Ambre Alexander