Illustrated Happy Hour: Michael Frary + Prickly Pear Margarita

Wednesday means #IllustratedHappyHour with the Grace! This week we discuss artist Michael Frary who is known for his beautiful seascapes in honor of #worldoceansday2020 and make a beach worthy cocktail with Cypress Street Station! Don’t forget your watercolors for the activity at the end.

Michael Frary earned an architecture degree and an MFA in painting from the University of Southern California before he came to Austin to join the faculty of the University of Texas in 1952. His early training in architecture played an important role in his career as an artist. In 1974 the Austin Chapter of the American Institute of Architects awarded Frary the Medal of Honor and The Texas Society of Architects presented him with a citation for lifelong service in the field of architecture. In the 1950s artists, like Frary, frequently worked directly with architects and designers to create a totally integrated modernist aesthetic. Unfortunately many of the site-specific commissioned murals and mosaics created in the 1950s have been lost. The Grace Museum exhibited a retrospective of Frary’s art in September 2009.