Criss, Francis, 1901-1973

Francis Hyman Criss (b.1901, London, England-d. 1973), American painter.

Painter and teacher; New York, N.Y.; b. 1901; d. 1973

Criss studied at the Graphic Sketch Club, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Barnes Foundation, the Art Students League in New York, and, later, with private instruction under Jan Matulka. Criss received the Cresson scholarship from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1920, which allowed him to further his studies in Europe. In 1934, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship to study in Italy. Criss was involved with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the American Artists' Congress, which he helped to organize in 1936. He was also a charter member of the "American Group" with artists that included Philip Evergood, Julian Levy, Jack Levine, William Gropper, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, the Soyers, Chaim Gross, and Abraham Rattner. Criss taught painting privately and at the Knox-Albright Museum, Brooklyn Museum Art School, The Art Students League, the New School, and the School of Visual Arts.

Painter and teacher; New York, N.Y.; b. 1901; d. 1973

Criss studied at the Graphic Sketch Club, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Barnes Foundation, the Art Students League in New York, and, later, with private instruction under Jan Matulka. Criss received the Cresson scholarship from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1920, which allowed him to further his studies in Europe. In 1934, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship to study in Italy. Criss was involved with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the American Artists' Congress, which he helped to organize in 1936. He was also a charter member of the "American Group" with artists that included Philip Evergood, Julian Levy, Jack Levine, William Gropper, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, the Soyers, Chaim Gross, and Abraham Rattner. Criss taught painting privately and at the Knox-Albright Museum, Brooklyn Museum Art School, The Art Students League, the New School, and the School of Visual Arts.