Frank Wesley

1923-2002

Biography

Frank Wesley was born in Azamgarh, U.P., India in December 1923 into a fifth generation Christian family of Hindu/Muslim background. 

He began studying at the government school of Arts and Crafts in Lucknow in 1943 continuing to postgraduate study, later joining the teaching staff. Further studies included four years at the Kyoto Art University in Japan (1954-58) where he studied art and wood block printing. In 1958 he joined the Art Institute of Chicago where he studied modern art. He returned to India in 1960.

His work has been internationally recognised. He designed the urn for Mahatma Ghandhi's ashes.  Five of his paintings were included in the 1950 Holy Year Exhibition at the Vatican.  "The Blue Madonna" was used as the first UNICEF Christmas card.

In 1973, he emigrated to Australia with his family. He continued to paint prolifically until his death in 2002.

In 1993 Naomi Wray published "Frank Wesley: Exploring faith with a brush", (Auckland, Pace publishing), a book that explores Frank's Christian painting.

Purpose of the Web Site

This web site includes many of Frank's works.  The site covers religious paintings and secular works  in two galleries. The religious work are full of symbolic meaning. We hope to add explanatory notes to the paintings at a later date so that their inner meanings can more fully understood.

The purpose of the web site is to display low quality digital copies of his work. The copyright for all Frank's works of art is owned by his immediate family. There should be no reproduction without permission. If you wish to use any of these works, a high quality digital image or loan of the photographic slide can be arranged by emailing enquiries@frankwesleyart.com where terms and conditions of use can be explained.  There is an inherent problem of photographs capturing the original subtle colours of a painting, so we have included a number of digital copies of some of the paintings in varying hues.

Feedback

This web site is a first attempt at bringing Frank's work to the digital age. Please feel free to pass back any feedback about the site to enquiries@frankwesleyart.com .