Dr. Elizabeth Kuebler will present a free lecture on an important painting by the French artist Louis Fabien (1924-2016) in an event presented through the partnership of the University of Saint Francis and the History Center (Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society).
In “From Manet to Fort Wayne—A Tale of Two Paintings,” Kuebler will discuss the Fabien painting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 9 in the Mimi and Ian Rolland Art and Visual Communication Center, 1014 Leesburg Road. Kuebler is an associate professor of art history at Saint Francis.
The painting was commissioned by the Spillson family for their renowned Café Johnell restaurant in Fort Wayne in 1982. It is a direct homage to Édouard Manet’s “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère,” painted in 1882. Nike Spillson, who posed for Fabien’s homage, generously donated the painting to Saint Francis and it is on display in the Rolland Center.
This work is a central portrait of Nike Spillson and her family, owners of Café Johnell. The restaurant was renowned for its French inspired atmosphere and cuisine. Nike was trained at the Cordon Bleu in Paris to be the chef and later became the director of the restaurant. Their wine cellar was one of the finest in the Midwest.
The painting features Nike, her parents, Fabien (in self-portrait) and Fabien’s wife, Annik. Fabien and the Spillsons were friends and the Spillsons purchased several of his paintings for the restaurant and their family’s collection.
Fabien was a self-taught figurative painter who used a modern form of Pointillism in his colorful paintings. Fabien exhibited artwork in Paris salon shows and had one-man shows in France, the United States, Japan, England and Germany.
Kuebler’s lecture is sponsored by 3Rivers Federal Credit Union. For more information, contact Saint Francis Gallery Director Justin Johnson at jljohnson@sf.edu.
Founded in 1890 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, the University of Saint Francis offers more than 60 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs through the College of Health Sciences and the College of Arts, Sciences, and Business. In addition to its traditional programs, Saint Francis designs focused curricula for working adults in Fort Wayne, Crown Point, Lafayette and online. USF Downtown houses the music technology program while offering enhanced internship and networking opportunities for students. The University of Saint Francis, recognized as an NAIA Five-Star Champion of Character institution, has 21 athletic programs boasting two individual and four team NAIA national championships. More than 1,900 students from a broad geographic region attend Saint Francis.