Frets completes painting for auction

Paul Frets with his new painting "Picking Cotton"
(Democrat photo/Nancy Kemp)

[Click to enlarge]

Now long gone, that era still lives in the memories of many and is very much a part of the present in Northeast Arkansas.

Mental pictures of long days spent in the cotton fields spring to life in Rector native Paul Frets' new painting "Picking Cotton," a 35x47 inch acrylic on canvas, to be auctioned by the Rector High School Helping Hands Foundation at 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon, Sept. 6, at the Rector Community Center.

Frets' painting last year of the late Moses Knight raised $10,500 for the Foundation and its work in helping disadvantaged Rector students, and "Picking Cotton" is sure to find interest among a large number of people who would love nothing better than to have the spectacular painting hanging in their home or office.

Frets, a resident of Radford, Va., and Professor Emeritus of Art at Radford University, said that, as was the case with the Moses Knight painting, Foundation co-founder Bill Carter of Lebanon, Tenn., "nudged a little" and suggested a cotton field would be great subject matter for a painting.

"The idea of 'Cotton Field,' echoing back to our childhood experiences in that great white ocean once again, seemed to me fertile ground to explore," Frets said.

"Picking Cotton" is a take off on the Grant Woods painting "American Gothic."

"The stoic poses of the figures in his painting seemed to echo through the attitudes of the figures in my painting," Frets said. "In addition, his painting was referenced to a period in American agricultural history. This was also the case with regard to my painting 'Picking Cotton.'"

Frets said the image was taken from a photo in or around Rector in the early 1930's.

"I'm not sure who the figures are or exactly where the cotton field is located," he said. "The photo belongs to my wife, Jerry, and prior to that belonged to her mother, Nell Jones Glaub, who took the photo."

A location has not yet been chosen, but the painting will be on display Labor Day weekend before the auction. Several other items also will be auctioned, including a picture and DVD from the Elvis Presley Estate at Graceland, a Ralph Emory CD set and more. Other items will be listed next week.

Frets graduated from Rector High School in 1953 and received a Bachelor's degree from Arkansas State University at Jonesboro. He went on to earn a Master's degree in art at the University of Missouri and a Doctor of Art degree in painting from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

He was a much-respected Professor of Art at Radford University before retiring in 1996 as Professor Emeritus of Art at that institution. His paintings have been shown in galleries all over the country and acquired by discriminating collectors.

Frets' work ranges from still lifes to portraits to abstract expressionism and living landscapes created from natural pigments found in the Virginia soil.

His wife, the former Jerry Glaub, is a 1955 RHS grad.

The RHS Helping Hands Foundation was established in 2006 by Carter, who grew up in Rector and also is a 1953 RHS grad, and his former classmate, Major General George Barker (U.S. Army retired) of New York.

The Foundation works with teachers, counselors and administrators in the Rector school district to identify students whose families are unable to meet their financial needs. In addition to the scholarships, assistance through the program has included the purchase of clothing, athletic equipment, band instruments, money for meals, dental care, health care, funds for field trips and much more.

The Helping Hands Foundation is chartered in the state of Arkansas and has 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit status from the federal government. Donations to the Foundation are tax deductible and may be made to honor a person on a special occasion or as a memorial in lieu of flowers.

Those who want more information about the RHS Helping Hands Foundation may contact the Foundation office at (870) 595-3501 or go to www.rhshelpinghands.org.