Fred Messersmith (1924-2009) American, Original Watercolor on Paper. Depicts a darkened harbor scene with sail boats and storm clouds passing overheard. Signed "Messersmith A.W.S." bottom right. Label on back gives information including the title: "Southwest Harbor, Maine." 

Overall Size: 33 1/2 x 26 in. 

Sight Size: 21 1/2 x 14 in. 

Fred Lawrence Messersmith was born on April 3rd, 1924 in Sharon, Pennsylvania, and first showed artistic talent in World War II when working as a pilot instructor for B-24 Liberator bombers in Liberal, Kansas, painting pin-ups and slogans on the sides of planes. After the war he attended Ohio Wesleyan University, graduating in 1948 with a BFA in Art and marrying Elizabeth Paryzek the same year. The following year he received his MA in painting and took the position of Chairman of Art at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, where he and his family lived until 1959 when they moved to DeLand, Florida where he served as the Chairman of the Art Department at Stetson University for the next thirty years. He was a member of numerous watercolor societies around the country and educated generations of budding artists even after his retirement in 1989, painting rich modernist harbor scenes and landscapes from the Everglades to Martha’s Vineyard right up until his death on March 23rd, 2009.

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