Artists

Frank Leslie Fairchild

American, 1893-1978

Frank Leslie Fairchild was a pianist, writer and an artist who specialized in circus life. Some of his works hung in the Ringling Museum of the American Circus in Sarasota, Florida, the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin, and the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport Connecticut. He lived for most of his life in Bridgeport, where for 19 years he served as the president of the Sprague Meter Company. Some of his earliest work included illustrations for The Baton, a publication of the Institute of Musical Art in New York City (which would later become part of the Julliard School) where he studied piano. His early illustrations were whimsical line drawings, often including musical symbols. His later work included oil paintings ranging from portraits and landscapes to circus scenes.