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Frank Weathers Long, 92, artist, athletic, designer-craftsman, and author, died Friday, January 22, 1999 in Diamondhead, Mississippi. Mr. Long was born May 7, 1906 in Knoxville, Tennessee. His easel paintings, woodcuts, lapidary work and sculptures won numerous awards and were displayed in regional and national exhibitions, including the American Federation of Arts National Traveling Print Show, the New York and San Francisco World's Fairs, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., the American Traveling Exhibition to South America, and the IBM Collection. His works are maintained in several prominent museums and private collections around the country, including the University of Kentucky Museum of Fine Arts, the Albuquerque Museum of Fine Art, and the Smithsonian Institution. During the 1920s he studied at the Chicago Art Institute and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. An avid runner, he was a member of several amateur track clubs, and qualified for the 1928 U.S. Olympic team. His love of art led him to forego the Olympics, choosing instead to pursue his studies at Academic Julien in Paris, France. Although he preferred easel painting, he gained greater recognition for his talent as a muralist. He achieved the most mural commissions of any artist from the U.S. Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts and his Depression Era murals are still preserved in public and private buildings in Illinois, Indiana, Oklahoma, Maryland, South Carolina, and Kentucky. He described his experiences as a muralist in the autobiographical Confessions of Depression Muralist, published in 1997. From 1932 to 1942 he worked in his studio in Berea, Kentucky, where he met and married Laura Whitis of White Plains, New York. During World War II he served as an Army First Lieutenant in the Pacific Theater of Operations. Mr. Long left the Army after the War and studied crafts in Silver City, NM. He returned to Berea, KY in 1947 and established a workshop where he designed and created fine jewelry. In 1951 the Department of the Interior appointed Mr. Long to the Alaskan Program of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board. From 1958 to 1961 directed programs of the Board in the Southwest and Florida advised the tribes in these areas on the production and distribution of their arts and crafts products. He retired from government service in Albuquerque in 1969 and turned his efforts to jewelry and sculpture. He was an active member of the Albuquerque Designer-Craftsmen, and a regular exhibitor at the Annual New Mexico Arts and Crafts Fairs. He published two books on gemstone design, The Creative Lapidary in 1977 and Lapidary Carving in 1982. In 1989, he resumed easel painting. In 1997, his health began to fail, and he moved with his wife to Diamondhead, MS where his daughter and son-in-law reside. He will be fondly remembered by his wife, Laura; his daughter, Angela; his son-in-law, Emil Petrunico; and the many friends he made throughout his remarkable life. No public service will be held. A Mass will be said in his honor at Annunciation Catholic Church, Kiln, MS. Memorial contributions may be made to the University of Kentucky Art Museum, Rose St. and Euclid Ave., Lexington, Kentucky 4506-0241. Riemann Funeral Home, Bay St. Louis, MS, is in charge of arrangements.
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