The Privilege to Paint: The Lives of Francis Speight and Sarah Blakeslee

"The Privilege to Paint: The Lives of Francis Speight and Sarah Blakeslee" by Maurice York will be published in May 2002 by John F. Blair, Publisher.

In 1938, the Magazine of Art, a monthly journal published by the American Federation of Arts, carried a series of articles about contemporary American artists. The essay about landscape painter Francis Speight said, All that he asks of life is the privilege to paint." Drawing from this quotation, the Greenville (NC) Museum of Art has published an illustrated biography entitled The Privilege to Paint that documents the lives and art of Francis Speight and his equally talented wife, Sarah Blakeslee. The book will complement a gallery at the museum that will be totally devoted to the works of this couple.
   Francis Speight grew up in Bertie County, North Carolina, and taught painting and drawing at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia from 1925 until 1961. In 1936, he married Sarah Jane Blakeslee, who was a student at the academys country school at Chester Springs. In 1961, the couple moved to Greenville, North Carolina, where Francis became artist-in-residence at East Carolina University and Sarah painted and taught art classes. Francis painted primarily landscapes, while Sarah painted landscapes, portraits, and still lifes. Both artists won numerous awards for their work and have been honored with exhibitions in both North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The state of North Carolina honored Francis Speight in 1964 with its highest award given to an artist, the North Carolina Award in Fine Arts. This was the first year the award was given. Thirty years later, it honored Sarah Blakeslee with the same award.
   This book features 83 images of their paintings, over 60 of which are in full color. From landscapes of Pennsylvania and North Carolina to portraits and still lifes, their paintings capture the essence of their subjects. This is a story of two kindred spirits and a celebration of their love of painting.

Maurice C. York is North Carolina Librarian at J. Y. Joyner Library at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He is a personal friend of the Speight family. Francis Speight died in 1989. In 1998, Sarah Blakeslee moved to the Germantown section of Philadelphia to be closer to their daughter, who is an art conservator. Sarah continues to paint.

The Privilege to Paint
The Lives of Francis Speight and Sarah Blakeslee
Maurice C. York
ISBN: 0-9713910-0-9
$34.95 hardcover
8 X 10
85 pages
60 color and 30 black-and-white photographs
Art