Robert Fabe (1917 - )

1. Robert Fabe was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1917, but grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio.  He began the study of painting with his father, a talented amateur.  He took an art course at Withrow High School in 1932-36 that was connected with the Art Academy of Cincinnati.

2. At the age of 17, he received a four-year scholarship to the Cincinnati Art Academy.  He sold his first painting soon after going to the Academy and became a professional.  In an interview, Fabe said, "I guess what you mean by professional is that people like your works and that your works sell.  Otherwise, you own the largest collection of your own works in the world".

3. After completing his studies at the Art Academy, Fabe applied for a scholarship at the prestigious Art Students league in New York.  They only gave 10 scholarships in the whole U.S. and Fabe got one.  After seeing a painting of Cincinnati, one of his teachers asked him, "In what part of Europe did you do this?"  It was the first time Fabe had been out of Cincinnati and he had no idea that Mount Adams looked like Europe, with the hills, the river, the crooked streets, and the old Germanic architecture.  The teacher was amazed and told Fabe, "Go back to paint where your roots are.  Paint what you know, what you see and what you smell, feel and sense and you'll be all right."  

4. Fabe paints scenes of Cincinnati, but some of his work is based on his travels.  Sort of working vacations for him.  Looks at the prints we have.  Which ones are from vacations?  Where do you think he went? (seashore)  Which prints are of Cincinnati? (building of Mt. Adams)

5. Fabe retired from U.C. in 1987 after 30 years of teaching.  He used to tell his students that da Vinci never witnessed 'The Last Supper', but he painted what he felt.  In all of Fabe's works he tries to absorb the feeling of the place.  What feelings do you get from the prints?  Fabe loves the gentle quietness of the beach.  How does he show this in the beach scenes?

6. Why do you think Fabe paints most children without faces or very little expression?  Are the children happy, sad, excited or quiet?  Do we need to see their faces to tell how they feel?

7. The other quality that Fabe is noted for is using Geometry in his pictures.  Where do you see geometric shapes in the prints?  (rectangle, triangle, parallelogram)

8. Show same prints of each picture, one with yellow tones and one with blue tones.  Look at the sky in each print.  Which is a summer sky? (yellow)   Winter sky? (blue)  Which print is happy or brighter? (yellow tones)  Which print is sad or somber? (blue tones)  Does color make a difference in the story a picture tells?  How?

9. Look at the beach scenes of old houses.  What story do they tell?  Who lives here?  Is this a year-round home or a vacation house?  What are the girls doing on the beach?

10. Look at the Mt. Adams picture.  What are the children doing?  In which picture do the children look happier?  Why?  (yellow tones brighten and warm the feeling)

Activity

Pass out art paper for a chalk drawing.  Do not pass out chalk yet.  Have students draw with a ruler.  Tell to look at the pictures and choose an object that interests them.  Enlarge that object on the paper.  Example:  one side of a building, an umbrella, a hat, a stairway, or a porch, etc.  After drawing, use chalk to color and blend colors.  Use lighter colors first and use darker colors sparingly.  Use white to blend two colors or lighten colors.