Franz de Merlier Daffodils Landscape Oil Painting in Wood Frame

Franz de Merlier (American / Belgian, 1878-1974) landscape oil painting on canvas titled Daffodils. Signed lower right. Dated 1940. Artwork in wood frame measures 36.5" x 38.5". Artwork and frame in very good condition. **If you will be making a local pickup at our Malvern, PA gallery email Hello@SugartownArt.com for a pickup discount.**

Franz de Merlier was born in Ghent, Belgium in 1878. His stepfather, Felix van Neste, introduced him to art and took de Merlier in as an apprentice at his lithography firm.

De Merlier moved to Brussels, and then to the United States where he found employment making illustrations for the Louisville Courier Journal. De Merlier moved to Cincinnati and then Chicago for work before he settled in Philadelphia. He studied at The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and opened an art studio with a fellow student, and later writer Joseph Hergesheimer (1880-1954).

The Brandywine Valley is where de Merlier found inspiration in the local landscape for his art. de Merlier became part of the local art community, with the Wyeths, Peter Hurd, and art scholar, Christian Brinton. He supported his family with mural commissions for the West Chester Area School District, the Lititz Community Theater, and the Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

He exhibited his paintings throughout Pennsylvania and in Brooklyn, Boston, and New Haven, Connecticut. de Merlier taught art at a variety of schools including the Bryn Mawr Art Center and the Berks Art Alliance. In 1974, Franz de Merlier passed away at the age of 96.

In 1982, the Brandywine Museum of art held an exhibition of Franz de Merlier’s work titled, “Franz de Merlier: the exhibition.”