Topic starter
07/12/2006 4:02 am
Dale mentioned Dorothea Frye and her paintings in another thread. I think that's a topic worthy of its own life, so here goes. As far as how many paintings and for whom they were done, DF compiled a list and gave it to a friend. As far as I know, this is the only complete listing available, and whether its owner wishes to share anything on it, is up to him. However, here is a partial list: the JACOB STRADER; the cotton packet AMERICA, which hangs over Doc Hawley's desk; the GORDON C. GREENE on Jim's Dream; Fred Way Jr. here in my collection; the ORCO at the Judds; and the following whose location I know not: the stern of the DQ as she departs the Greene Line wharfboat(Jane Greene was supposed to get that, but whether she did or not I'm not sure); the DQ steaming along at night, which was sold on board as a small poster-size; the DQ docked in the evening; a head on of the DQ docked in which DF placed herself and Larry and Ethel Walker on deck - this one is on the landing of the stairs at the Howard Museum; and the AVALON docked at Clinton, Iowa. She also did b&w sketches of Capt.Wagner, Doc Hawley, and Betty Blake. I think we've posted some of these previously, but again due to the new board format, I'll repost them for current reference. Dorothea never took a lesson, but the combination of her artistic talent and working knowledge of steamboats makes for wonderful works. She sadly had to give up her painting prematurely due to failing eyesight. Following will be pix I have of some of these paintings and sketches. 1: Doc's AMERICA 2: DQ leaving Greene Line wharfboat 3: the GCG on Jim's Dream
Topic starter
07/12/2006 4:21 am
The next 3 Dorothea Frye paintings: the DQ underway(sold on the boat); DQ docked at night; DQ headon - Larry, Ethel, and Dorothea are out on deck. Please remember, these are scans of photos of the paintings, so this is not the true quality of the work. My flash washes some parts out.
07/12/2006 4:44 am
Thanks Judy- the pictures are awesome!
Topic starter
07/12/2006 4:45 am
3 Dorothea Frye portraits. As much as I like DF's boat paintings, I like her people works better - she really captured their personalities. I just happened to remember I have a little 3x5 inch sketch of Doc and Jesse Hughes down in my NOLA apartment, in addition to these... first is of course Capt. Ernie Wagner. The second one is a younger Doc Hawley, probably about 1966; and the third Betty Blake. This is the one which should be gracing the BB Lounge on the DQ instead of that horrid one they used by a professional artist...
Topic starter
07/12/2006 4:57 am
...and the last edition of Dorothea Frye artwork. This is of the one original which I have. This was her very first painting. It was based on a picture in the front of Fred Way's "Saga of the Delta Queen". And lastly, a picture of the terrible trio plus one at Doc's in 1986: Ethel Walker, Judy, Dorothea Frye, and Larry Walker.
07/12/2006 12:48 pm
Hi, Judy:
WOW! Great work! Glad to know you have the list of Dorothea's paintings and drawings plus photos. Now people who read the web, hear about Dorothea, will be able to have a connection. Dorothea's painting of the Str. JACOB STRADER, as posted, is being featured in a Cincinnati Historical Society display here at the Union Terminal complex. When the University of Cincinnati instituted big renovations, demolition and building, Joan Strader made sure the painting was removed and sent to the CHS.
I was thinking also that there is a fine painting by Dorothea at the Ohio River Museum, Marietta and I'm sure it's of the J.M. WHITE. Am I right? That's the one where the boat's firebox doors are open and the glow can be seen reflected on the little figures of the firemen tending the boilers. Yes, a number of us miss Dorothea more with each passing day.
Cheers and many thanks for a good job,
R. Dale Flick
07/12/2006 12:49 pm
Thanks, Judy, for sharing photos of the fabulous artwork of our dear friend. Dorothea sent me a list some years ago of her paintings and where they were, to the best of her knowledge. She sold some of her works on the DQ in 1966, the year that she was the "gift shop lady". In my collection are Dorothea's paintings of the GORDON C. GREENE at Louisville, a sunken sidewheeler named MISSISSIPPI in a bayou setting (taken from a drawing in Harper's Magazine in the 1880's), QC stateroom door monogram of the Str. QUEEN CITY, and one of Chreitien Point Plantation, done shortly after Dorothea and Larry & Ethel Walker visited the rundown plantation (it was being used as a hay barn and cattle freely roamed through it) during one of their New Orleans sojourns. The plantation, now completely restored is currently on the real estate market for $1.5 million. Dorothea (fondly called DF by many of us) painted with a unique photographic quality and, because she knew and loved her subject so well, included myriad details in her works that other artists would have overlooked. Her night scene painting of the DQ, which was copied and 11 x 14 framed prints sold in the DQ gift shop for $2.50, includes quite a number of river personalities on deck, in the pilothouse and at the engineroom midship door. The Ohio River Museum at Marietta owns DF's paintings of the J.M. WHITE and Capt. Fred's little sternwheeler LADY GRACE. DF's large painting of the DQ at the Howard Steamboat Museum receives much attention in its prime location on the landing of the grand staircase of the mansion. And, of course, I am proud to point out to visitors that the artist was a person whose friendship of many years greatly enriched my life.
18/12/2006 1:25 am
The Rat Pack
After the AVALON folded, and I was still a college "student", Cap Wagner, Doc, and others went over to the DELTA QUEEN, and though they were aboard, I felt somewhat uneasy about mooching my way aboard the boat on leaving days at the old Greene Line wharf boat. At the time, I possessed a respectable talent for "art" that has since deserted me for lack of practice. Two detailed drawings were the extent of my portfolio. One was the HERBERT E. JONES and the other the GENERAL WOOD that caught Dorothea Frye's attention, and I was immediately accepted into the now-celebrated group that I lovingly called The Rat Pack. Of course it was Dorothy and Ethel and Larry Walker. It was my inclusion into this exclusive club that allowed me nearly limitless access to the DELTA QUEEN before I made my own way later on.
Dorothea Frye paintings still tickle a special nerve when I see one, for she was an artist of uncommon talent unlike anyone else using the same genre for the root of their artistry. Forty years ago, when I told Dorothy that one day her painting would command a thousand dollars at sale, she did not believe one would ever sell for that, then, princely sum. The first time one of her paintings sold for that much, she made a point of reminding me of my prediction that the value of her paintings would take. Had Dorthea painted more, who knows to what extent she would be remembered, now, for her talent? Looking back, I am pleased that, for a while, I was a party to that amazing Rat Pack of steamboat aficionados.
Attached is Dorothea's "Brucie" (Bruce Edgington)