Francis Hines : New York’s Wrapper

Project Description

Francis Hines: This master of the energy of tension created wrappings that are unique in American art — from the famous Washington Square Arch to his extensive body of paintings.

This is a story of how passion rescued valuable art from a Dumpster. In 2017, a year after Francis Hines died at age 96, his entire life’s work of paintings and sculpture were discarded in three huge Dumpsters. Most of the sculptures are now part of landfill. But fortunately, all the paintings were rescued at the eleventh hour by a car mechanic who had no knowledge about art. He reached out to Peter Hastings Falk, art historian and appraiser, who determined the collection of paintings could be worth millions if represented by a major gallery. Now, that gallery — Hollis Taggart — is presenting an expansive exhibition, “Unwrapping the Mystery of New York’s Wrapper — Francis Hines,” running from May 5 to June 11, 2022, at both its Southport, Connecticut, and Chelsea, New York, galleries.

Collaborating with Peter for years, AMA was contracted to design the gallery catalogue and brochure for The Francis Hines Exhibit.