the essential
American artist Frances Butler has died at the age of 84. If his name doesn’t mean anything to you, his works have nevertheless been exhibited in the greatest museums in the world, such as the MoMa in New York. For around thirty years, she had isolated herself in her property located in Saint-Jean-Lagineste. His relatives are worried about the future of his house covered with earthenware frescoes.
She still can’t believe it. “This story is incredible!” I would never have thought that there would be this type of frescoes in this house from such a renowned artist” explains Martine Martignac, mayor of Saint-Jean-Lagineste.
“Believe me, if I had known, I would have made arrangements.” “I asked the Cauvaldor cultural service to come to the site to carry out an assessment” continues the elected official. “I’m a little angry with her friends and relatives for not having informed me sooner who Frances Butler really was. Clothes don’t make the monk, but I assure you that the person I knew was far from the image of an artist of her stature. She spoke almost no French and remained secluded in her property.
DDM David Naulin
His friends indeed want to safeguard this heritage unknown to everyone. They explain that the artist did not wish to communicate about his past life and imposed discretion on them regarding the layout of his house. From the United States, Charles Sherman is one of the close friends of the artist Frances Butler. This former journalist at ‘International Herald Tribune’ has been concerned since the artist’s death. He wants to alert the authorities about the existence and future of his friend’s property.
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Works exhibited in museums around the world
“Frances is an internationally renowned artist,” explains Charles Sherman from his residence in the United States. “She taught at the University of Berkeley in California. She was recognized for her work on textiles. In San Francisco, she co-founded the art publishing house Poltroon Press, which is still in operation. His work, in the field of avant-garde fashion, has been exhibited in the greatest museums in the world, in particular in New York at the MoMa, in London and even Tokyo.
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UC Berkeley displayed six of his works in an exhibition titled “Hippie Modernism.” Although she did not consider herself a hippie, her close friends described her as eccentric and lonely. Since the death of her husband in a car accident, sheShe lived alone in Saint-Jean-Lagineste, in an old Quercy house.
“For years, she covered part of the walls of her house with complex and exotic mosaics representing the surrounding wild flora and fauna,” explains Charles Sherman. “Her work was inspired by Greek mythology and the paintings of Pech Merle.”
DDM David Naulin
A unique artist’s house in the Lot
Frances Butler has no heirs. According to Charles Sherman, she donated her property to an agricultural landowner whose work she really appreciated. Martine Martignac confirmed. “Frances Butler gave me a copy of her will in which she made her arrangements. It is indeed this landowner who is named.”
DDM David Naulin
Charles Sherman hopes the structure will take responsibility for the mosaics. “With other friends and admirers, we wish to inform the public of the existence of this cultural heritage in order to protect it. Over the years, some frescoes have become damaged. It seems important to us that the public authorities be able to know about it. existence in order to preserve his work and make it accessible to all”. If the artist’s house does not have the size of the imposing Palais du Facteur Cheval located in the Drôme, it has many advantages to become an unusual place to visit or an artists’ residence.
