Frank. J. Reilly (Amer. 1906–1967) studied at the Art Student’s League of New York with Frank Vincent DuMond and George Bridgman, and he apprenticed with Dean Cornwell. He taught at the Grand Central School of Art, Pratt Institute, Moore College of Art and 28 years at the Art Students League of New York (ASL). His classes at the League were so popular that, at one point, they accounted for half the school’s income.
He established the Frank J. Reilly School of Art in the early sixties, where he taught until his death in 1967.
Reilly scientifically analyzed the elements of art, distilling them into formulas for successful picture-making. He created the iconic Frank Reilly Palette (ca. 1933), which employs a grouping of pre-mixed paints in strings of values based on the Munsell Color System. This palette saves time while the model is posing and offers much more control of values.
Reilly’s students include: Harold R. Stevenson, Jack Faragasso, Charles Reid, Doug Higgins, Michael Aviano, Ralph Garafola and Peter Max, who notes that one day when he walked into Reilly’s class and saw Norman Rockwell sitting there.
Frank Reilly died before he completed his intended book, but several students have published books based on Reilly’s methods, including: “The Student’s Guide to Painting” by Jack Faragasso, “The Frank Reilly School of Art” by Doug Higgins and “Frank J. Reilly: The Elements of Painting” by Ralph Garafola.
Meryl Ann Butler studied with Harold Stevenson, who studied with Frank J. Reilly.
