Allan Randall Freelon (1895-1960)
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Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Allan Randall Freelon was an African American Impressionist artist well known for his use of color and for painting the ports of Gloucester. He also illustrated using charcoal, conte, oil and lithography. Freelon studied at the Philadelphia Museum and School of Industrial Art, then at the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated with a degree in Education.
His art teachers were Earle Horter, Emile Gruppe, and Hugh Breckenridge. The classes taught by these talented teachers in Gloucester attracted Freelon to the area for several years. He was probably the first African American member of the Gloucester Society of Artists and the North Shore Arts Association. Freelon earned his M.F.A at Tyler School of Fine Arts in 1943. Freelon also participated in regional exhibitions and was honored with three feature shows in 1934, 1935, and 1940. In the 1940s, he spent his summers in Windy Crest in Telford, Pennsylvania. Freelon taught at the Philadelphia Public Schools, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and at the Philadelphia Print Club. He became the first African-American to be the Assistant Director of Art in the Philadelphia Public School System. He died in 1960 in Telford, Pennsylvania. His work can now be seen at the Howard University, The Whitney Museum of American Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and University of Pennsylvania.
His art teachers were Earle Horter, Emile Gruppe, and Hugh Breckenridge. The classes taught by these talented teachers in Gloucester attracted Freelon to the area for several years. He was probably the first African American member of the Gloucester Society of Artists and the North Shore Arts Association. Freelon earned his M.F.A at Tyler School of Fine Arts in 1943. Freelon also participated in regional exhibitions and was honored with three feature shows in 1934, 1935, and 1940. In the 1940s, he spent his summers in Windy Crest in Telford, Pennsylvania. Freelon taught at the Philadelphia Public Schools, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and at the Philadelphia Print Club. He became the first African-American to be the Assistant Director of Art in the Philadelphia Public School System. He died in 1960 in Telford, Pennsylvania. His work can now be seen at the Howard University, The Whitney Museum of American Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and University of Pennsylvania.