“James Fitzgerald: A Painter’s Journey” is the story of Boston-born James Fitzgerald (1899-1971), who, after experiencing early critical success, withdrew to a reclusive life on Maine’s Monhegan Island. Shot on location in Maine, California and Ireland, it is also the story of the artist’s extraordinary friendship with Anne and Edgar Hubert.
Upon his passing, Fitzgerald left the Huberts his island home, studio and some 500 paintings. For more than 25 years, the Huberts told their friend’s story again and again, seeing for Fitzgerald the recognition he refused during his lifetime. Thanks to the Huberts, Fitzgerald’s work now hangs in many major museums.
Narrated by acclaimed storyteller Jay O’Callahan, the documentary traces Fitzgerald’s early days in Boston and his years in Monterey, where he fell in with John Steinbeck, Doc Ricketts and the Cannery Row group. Follow Fitzgerald to Mt. Katahdin in central Maine, and to the windswept Aran Islands off the Irish coast.
“A Painter’s Journey” is not only the remarkable story of one artist’s commitment to his calling, but it’s also an inspiring tale of friendship and devotion. (2009, 57 mins)
Frederick Lewis is a professor in the School of Media Arts & Studies at Ohio University and a documentary filmmaker whose work has been seen on PBS stations throughout the U.S. and screened at more than 100 cultural/educational venues, including the Library of Congress, the National Gallery of Art and the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.
He teaches courses in Contemporary American Documentary and International Documentary Studies and is a recipient of the Presidential Teacher Award, Ohio University’s highest honor for transformative teaching, curriculum innovation and mentoring.
Lewis has also taught at Boston University and the Rhode Island School of Design. Internationally, he has been a Fulbright Specialist in Hungary and has taught or conducted workshops in England, Germany, France, Ukraine, Romania, Malaysia and Vietnam.
