Frank Mura

Frank Mura (born 17 July 1861) was a French-born American painter and water colourist who also worked in charcoal and pencil. His work includes landscapes, buildings, marine settings, human subjects and animals. He was noted for his charcoal painting technique.

Life and works

Born in Alsace in 1861, Mura's family settled in New York City when he was a child and he became a naturalised American. The family home was in Manhattan and his father's occupation was listed in the census as a feather dealer. He returned to Europe in 1881 and studied in Munich. During this period, some of his paintings were purchased by a wealthy New York collector, Ichabod T. Williams, which enabled him to pay an overdue account with his landlady and continue with his studies, his father having ceased his allowance. He also studied in the Netherlands.

Mura settled in London in 1891 and married the German-born painter Charlotte Poehlmann on 4 April 1894 in Hampstead. He created a series of oil paintings of London life, including Billingsgate Fishmarket (Studio Magazine) . They moved to Mill End studio, Little Easton, Dunmow, and had one daughter, Margaret Mura, born c.1902. In 1911, the Muras were living at Myrtle Cottage, Sompting, Sussex.