by Audrey Anderson
Hometown Weekly Reporter
On Thursday, December 5, the Friends of the Walpole Public Library held a busy opening reception for an Art Retrospective featuring the paintings of Francis “Frank” X. Quinn (1944-2024). The Community Room was packed with visitors who enjoyed viewing Quinn’s paintings and catching up with friends. The exhibit will remain on view for the month of December, and it can be viewed whenever the library is open. Beginning in the Community Room, the exhibit continues on the walls toward the back of the library, past the Children’s Room, and it includes 74 works in all.
Quinn was a beloved board member of the Friends of the Walpole Public Library. He led several projects to benefit the library, including an art auction and the development of the art hanging system in the Community Room and front entrance. According to the curator of the Quinn Art Retrospective, Ann Gorbett, Frank always encouraged new artists, suggesting local art groups for them to join.
Curator Gorbett arranged for loans from Quinn’s family members and several private collections to put together the Retrospective. Quinn’s lively paintings were organized by their subjects, including Boston and Cape Cod attractions and scenes, Fenway Park and Red Sox players, portraits of his grandchildren, music themes and musicians, public figure portraits, and landscapes.
Among many standout paintings, “The Committee” shows three realistically depicted middle-aged women standing in knee-deep ocean water, conducting business with their hands on their hips. Another painting of Big Papi shows his powerful batting stance, with subtle rays highlighting his bat, and a red, white and blue bunting flag providing a strong background. In another glowing painting, a sweet young boy gently greets the lead duck in the “Make Way for Ducklings” statues.
Among the public figures in Quinn’s paintings were musicians Kenny Chesney, Roy Orbison, and Stevie Wonder, Robert Kraft, and actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Ava Gardner, and George W. Bush.
Grab a friend or bring your family and head over to the library to see this exhibit. Young and old will enjoy the local scenes, Boston figures, musicians, and others as interpreted through Frank Quinn’s paintbrush.
