About

Margaret “Peggy” Frank

Art has been a major part of my life for as long as I can remember. Growing up in suburban New York, I sketched and painted the salt marshes of Long Island’s south shore, our back garden with its profusion of azaleas, and the rocky coast of Maine. Later, as a student in New York City, I was surrounded by galleries filled with the great paintings of the Abstract Expressionist era and discovered that gesture, line, shape, and color could create painted worlds beyond realism. Life brought me to Colorado, then to California and years filled with art, joint photography and painting expeditions with my husband, Alan, and sharing the joy of doing art with students.

I continue to pursue the landscape in oils and acrylics. Each painting captures a place dear to my heart… Northern California’s oak covered hillsides; the stunning rocks and pines of Colorado’s front range foothills; Utah’s red canyons; and Scotland’s mountains, moors, and lochs, close to the home of our daughter. For me, painting captures a moment in time, the quality of light, the memory of a breeze, and the fragrance of grass and leaves. I also continue to pursue abstraction. Each of these paintings depicts its own world, with line and color suggesting imaginary worlds that demand to be explored in paint. Painting is both a joy and a challenge. It has been my passion and career. Sharing it with others is a treat.

Education

  • 1970
    BFA in painting,
    University of Denver
  • 1964–1968
    New York University School of Education, Department of Fine Arts, and
    NYU Washington Square College, Department of Art History
  • Additional classes at Adelphi University and the Art Students’ League of New York 

photo of artist Peggy FrankSelected Solo and Group Exhibitions

  • Bankhead Theater Gallery, Livermore CA
  • Firehouse Art Center Gallery, Pleasanton CA
  • Thompson Gallery, Livermore CA
  • Concannon Vineyards, Livermore CA
  • San Francisco Women Artists Gallery, San Francisco CA
  • Graduate Theological Union Gallery, Berkeley CA
  • Carson Sapiro Gallery, Denver, CO
  • Sun Gallery, Hayward CA
  • Olive Hyde Art Center, Fremont CA
  • Crocker-Kingsley Exhibition, Sacramento CA
  • Jewish Community Center Gallery, Denver CO
  • Denver Art Museum, Sources South Gallery, Denver CO

Related Work Experience

  • 1990 to present
    Founder and Instructor, The Young Artists’ Studio, Livermore, CA
  • 1981–1995
    Coordinator and Instructor, visual arts program of the Livermore Association for Guiding and Teaching Students (LAGATS)
  • 1978–1980
    Instructor in art classes for children in schools and youth groups