Franklin C. Watkins

Franklin Chennault Watkins (December 30, 1894 – December 4, 1972) was an American painter.

Born in New York City, Watkins was the son of Benjamin Franklin Watkins of Reidsville, North Carolina, and Shirley Chennault Watkins of Louisville; he was a cousin, through his mother's sister, of poet Ogden Nash. His father was an inventor who made his career marketing patents. He had a brother, Edmund, who became a journalist and writer of short stories, and two sisters. As a baby he was taken to London, where his family lived; at other points throughout his childhood he lived in Rye, New York, Louisville, and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. His father's income fluctuated so that the family's financial situation was never stable, and this affected his education; he entered Groton School in 1908, but was forced to withdraw two years later due to money woes. He matriculated at the University of North Carolina, but, not liking the atmosphere, left after four days. He spent a year at the University of Virginia and several terms at the University of Pennsylvania before settling on a career in art, and he entered the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1913. His teacher there was Cecilia Beaux, and while a student he received two Cresson Traveling Scholarships; he left for two years to work in New York and earn money for tuition, but returned in 1916.Henry McCarter was another teacher. Watkins would remain associated with the school for much of the rest of his life. During World War I he painted camouflage for the United States Navy, and from 1918 to 1923 he was a commercial artist with the Philadelphia advertising firm of N. W. Ayer. Serving alongside him in the Navy was Arthur B. Carles, who would become a lifelong friend.

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