Frank Rampolla’s “Go-Go Girl” painting was taken down the night before the exhibit when one of the board of directors demanded that it be taken out of the show.
The High Museum of Art Director, protested and later resigned over this.
Read the the full article here.
I had drawing and painting under Mr Rampolla. My first assignment was to draw an apple. Being from a small southern town, never having an art class, I was so terrified that I begged a 2nd year student to draw it for me. She finally gave in, and I am sure he knew I did not draw that apple, but he didn’t give up on me. He gave me courage to try.
2.) What do you remember about Frank Rampolla? What sticks out in your memory about him?
His dedication to his painting. I was in riverside dorm, and he would walk down the hall every night on his way to his studio and then back to his apartment late that night. He always looked at the floor all the way down the hall because we were all in some form of undressed. If we walked out into the hall, he would look away immediately.
Mrs. Rampolla was also wonderful. She was like a mother to us. I needed that kind of caring being so far away from home for the 1st time.
First, he taught me dedication to my art by example. Having him for painting and drawing, I learned all the fundamentals of drawing and painting that gave me the power to go forward with confidence. He once told me my work reminded him of Pierre Bonnard, I had to go to library to see his work. I was thrilled beyond belief that he saw him in my work. His gentle soul was so different from the power and dark side of his work.
The year was 1967 and I think it was painting 1 or 2.
2.) What do you remember about Frank Rampolla? What sticks out in your memory about him?
He had two characteristics that were admirable. He was intense about his art and art in general, but gentle in his critiques. He was a “coach” in the best possible meaning of the word. He found your strengths and worked with them and at the same time encouraged working on your weaknesses.
I became more free with the paints and the expression. I grew up wanting to be an illustrator and was a big fan of the Wyeth works – which are tight and beautifully controlled. Mr. Rampolla did not discourage that direction, but worked with the elements that needed more artist involvement. He would come by and say “Put down your brush – you are finished!” We all had the tendency to overwork paintings.
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