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Frank, Frederick & Alice. “The Children of the Battle Field” MET DP274800-by Wenderoth, Taylor & Brown-

Top 10 Facts about Frederick Franck

Known for his interest in human spirituality, Frederick Sigfred Franck was a painter, sculptor, and author who was born in Maastricht, the Netherlands, on April 12, 1909.

He died in Warwick, New York, in the United States, on June 5, 2006. In 1945, he attained citizenship in the US. He was a dental surgeon by training, and from 1958 to 1961, he collaborated with Dr. Albert Schweitzer in Africa. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Fogg Art Museum, Tokyo National Museum, and Cathedral of St. John the Divine all have sculptures by him in their collections.

His most notable accomplishment was the building of Pacem in Terris, a sculpture garden and park close to his house in Warwick, New York (“Peace on Earth”).

The land, which is now managed by a nonprofit foundation, boasts more than 70 sculptures. Here are 10 facts about Frederick Franck.

1. Frederick Franck is impossible to describe with a few words

It’s tough, to sum up, Frederick Franck in a few sentences. He was a rather complicated guy.

His many accomplishments have been compared to those of a physician, painter, sculptor, Renaissance man, bridge builder, trans-religious visionary, author, and teacher, among others.

He lived for about a century, and most of it was spent in the 20th century.

2. He worked as a dental surgeon

Dentist room-by IngimarE-

Franck initially worked as a dentist in England before emigrating to the US in 1939.

Due to the fact that his British dental credentials did not allow him to practice dentistry in the United States, he enrolled in the University of Pittsburgh’s Dental School and earned his American dental degree there.

He taught oral surgery and anesthesia at Pittsburgh after earning his dental degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

In order to help the Dutch East Indies Colony prepare for the post-war future, he was requested to act as a consultant to the then-exiled Netherlands government in 1944.

Franck established dentistry and oral surgery clinic for MEDICO-CARE while working as an oral surgeon on the medical staff of the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambarene, Gabon, from 1958 to 1961.

3. He was known for his interest in human spirituality

How to know human nature- its inner states and outer forms (1919) (14784303152)-by Atkinson, William Walker-

In both his words and his artwork, Frederick Franck promoted a profoundly unique and all-encompassing understanding of what it means to be human.

He was a Renaissance guy with a profoundly unique and all-encompassing understanding of what it meant to be human.

His slogan was “The meaning of life is to see,” and in response, he produced vivid paintings, minutely detailed sketches, and monumental sculptures that let us understand life to all of its fullest potentials.

Out of his experiences giving workshops where he encouraged his students to unleash their inner artists through a mystical connection with their themes, he wrote the timeless best-seller The Zen of Seeing.

4. His paintings became part of a score of museums in the U. S. and abroad

Museum of Modern Art 02-by Elisa.rolle-

In his studio on Bleeker Street, Franck wrote and painted in his spare time. He established himself as a prominent painter and held several one-man exhibits in Amsterdam, New York, and Â鶹APP.

Numerous institutions in the United States and overseas include Franck’s drawings and paintings in their permanent collections.

These museums include the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, the Tokyo National Museum, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York.

He held shows in 2003 at the Yale University Gallery of the Institute for Sacred Music and the Poughkeepsie Museum of Art.

His most recent shows took place in Poughkeepsie and at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City in 2004 and 2006, respectively.

5. He obtained American citizenship in 1945

Franck immigrated to the United States in 1939, where he attended the University of Pittsburgh and earned an American degree.

Up until 1944, when he left for Austria and began working as a consultant with the government of the Netherlands Indies until the end of World War II, he taught oral surgery and anesthesiology there.

In 1945, he returned to the United States and acquired citizenship.

6. He attended all four Vatican Council sessions as an artist

Pope John XXIII – 1959-by Unknown author-

Despite not being a Roman Catholic himself, Franck attended all four Vatican Council sessions in his capacity as an artist in the middle of the 1960s.

This was during the Second Vatican Council, after being touched by Pope John XXIII’s inaugural address at the first session.

At the conclusion of the four Vatican Council meetings, he gave Pope John XXIII the sketches and drawings he had done of the discussions.

Then, as a token of appreciation for the drawings, the pope presented Franck with a medal.

After Pope John XXIII passed away, Franck traveled to Rome to sketch the late pope as he lay in his coffin.

7. His most notable design was a park and sculpture garden 

Franck and his wife Claske relocated to Warwick, New York, in the late 1960s. They had bought a property there that contained an ancient water mill and space for a small park.

They turned the land into what they called a trans religious sanctuary and gave it the name Pacem in Terris, which translates to Peace on Earth.

Albert Schweitzer, Daisetz T. Suzuki, and Pope John XXIII were honored in the sanctuary’s garden, which also features Franck sculptures.

8. Franck was also an author

“Pacem in Terris”, work by Francesco D’Alconzo, exhibited in the atrium of the birthplace of Pope San Giovanni XXIII-by Francesco D’Alconzo-

Franck was also a writer and continued to do so well into his eighties. It appears that he produced over 30 books.

The Zen of Seeing; Seeing and Drawing as Meditation was his most popular book. In addition to selling well over 300,000 copies, it was translated into other languages.

It appears that his other publications have received less attention. Pacem in Terris; A Love Story, A Passion for Seeing; On Being An Image Maker, and seeing Venice; An Eye in Love.

To Be Human Against All Odds, What Does It Mean To Be Human? A Zen Book of Hours, and Zen Seeing, Zen Drawing; Meditation in Action are a few of the titles.

9. He has been recognized for his service to humanity by different institutions

He received an honorary doctorate in fine arts from the University of Pittsburgh in 1963, perhaps in recognition of his humanitarian work at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Gabon.

He received an honorary degree from Saint Mary College in Newburgh, New York, in 1994.

The same year, Franck was knighted as an officer in the Order of Orange Nassau by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

10. His sculptures stand in public spaces throughout the country

Four of Mr. Franck’s minimalist sculptures made of wood, glass, steel, and metal that feature mystical themes may be found on the streets of Newark, New Jersey’s impoverished Central Ward.

The sculptures in Newark feature a phoenix rising from its perch and a large-petaled flower with a red and gold stained-glass core, both of which are meant to represent rebirth.

In his writings, some of which are geared toward youngsters, Mr. Franck examines issues relating to comparative religion, spirituality as opposed to religion, and art, often all in the same volume.