Frederick Carl Frieseke

Frederick Carl Frieseke painted women in sunlit gardens, often among flowers, parasols and patterned dresses, so that figure, light and decoration blend into one shimmering surface. He described his subject simply as sunshine, and his style is sometimes called decorative Impressionism.

He was born in Owosso, Michigan, in 1874, studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League, then moved to Paris and studied at the Académie Julian. He spent most of his life in France and was a leading member of the American colony at Giverny from 1906 to 1919. He won the Grand Prize at the Panama Pacific Exposition in 1915 and died in Normandy in 1939. His work is in the Metropolitan Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Breakfast in the Garden and Lady in a Garden are classic examples.