Margaret Lefranc

Margaret in 1920 in Berlin,
age 13.
Photo: Abraham Frankel

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Margaret Lefranc Art Foundation

We hope that you enjoy your glimpse into Margaret Lefranc's lifetime of imaging. A vastly talented and determined artist, Margaret began her career at a remarkably young age. Her life spanned all but nine years of the twentieth century. Our objective is for this site to encourage and inform both admirers of and newcomers to Margaret's art; museum directors; curators; students; collectors; and everyone interested in the arts. Margaret's vision, which sprang from a fearless, adventurous and generous heart, was magical. Even more so, her life was and continues to be inspiring. Please share what you see and learn here with your friends and acquaintances. Although she widely exhibited her oils, watercolors, drawings and other media while she lived, Margaret Lefranc and her work are still among the little-known treasures of the art world.

A Lifetime of Imaging: The Art of Margaret Lefranc, a catalogue of this extraordinary artist's life and work, and a film of the same title examining Lefranc's life in her own words. Click image for more details and to order.

A Lifetime of Imaging: The Art of Margaret Lefranc by Lois Katz

A Lifetime of Imaging: The Art of Margaret Lefranc video

A catalogue of this extraordinary
artist's life and work

Lefranc's life in her own words

Recorder Player, 1957
Image 10 3/4" x 5 3/4"

In July 1998, the exhibition "Breaking Boundaries, American Women Artists in France, ca. 1880-1930" opened in Paris at the official residence of the American ambassador to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The women artists included in the show were chosen because they did, indeed break boundaries, challenging conventions of the times to follow their hearts, their visions and their dreams. Margaret Lefranc's presence among them was essential, as Lefranc broke through boundaries all of her life. When she was merely six years of age and living in Brooklyn, New York, she chose to be an artist. When she came to Europe to live with her parents at the age of thirteen, even while ill, Margaret continued her independent art study with an independent spirit. Margaret Lefranc was an artist who broke national and artistic boundaries in Paris during her formative years from 1922 to 1933, and experimented with new styles and subjects for all of her life.

Amy L. Bondurant, former U.S. Ambassador to the OECD

Margaret Lefranc's artworks demonstrate her great sensitivity to the environment and deep understanding of artistic traditions, trends, and movements. She was committed to experimenting and taking risks.

Stuart A. Ashman, Cabinet Secretary, Department of Cultural Affairs

Margaret Lefranc’s exposure to modern art in New York, Berlin, and Paris fortified her for a unique position in the Santa Fe art colony. Never a self-promoter, Lefranc’s inclusion in a series of exhibitions in the early 1990s reintroduced her work to the public eye. Consequently, her 1996 Governor’s Award for Excellence and Achievement in the Arts from state of New Mexico is a testament to her importance to the Santa Fe art scene.

Michael R. Grauer, Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs/Curator of Art,
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas

The book represents a wonderful journey into the creative mind of a terrific artist who has been overlooked for too long. The publication does a superb job of presenting the remarkable range of her talent and the brilliance of her ideas. It's a book that must be examined by anyone interested in the art of America.

Louis A. Zona, The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio