Frederick Lester Sexton was born in 1889 in Cheshire, Connecticut. He studied at the Yale School of Fine Arts with Sergeant Kendall, Edwin Taylor, A.V. Tack. He was a Winchester Traveling Fellow in 1915 and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1917.

Most of Sexton’s landscapes and still life were painted in the region between New Haven and Old Lyme, Connecticut. He was active with the Old Lyme colony of artists beginning in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s. He painted in a bold but realist Post-Impressionist style, often employing a palette knife. As a baby, he was severely burned in a fire, and, although his right hand was permanently closed, this did not affect his ability to paint throughout his life, or to build his own 28-ft sailing yacht in 1955. After studying at Yale, he served in WW1 as an ambulance driver. Upon his return in 1919, painting became his profession. He also taught widely at schools in the New Haven area.

Memberships:

• The Salmagundi Club in 1929 which was an early important art club in New York City. It held regular exhibitions and formed a collection.
• Lyme Art Association, 1936 – 1972.
• New Haven Paint & Clay Club, 1922 – on.
• Meridian Arts & Crafts Association, 1944 (portrait prize).
• Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts

Exhibitions: A sampling is as follows:

• University of Connecticut, 1929 (solo).
• Yale School of Fine Arts, 1930 (solo).
• New Haven Paint & Clay Club, 1922 – 1949 (prizes in 1923,1927,1940,1943), 1975 (memorial solo)
• Meridian Arts & Crafts Association, 1941 (portrait size).
• Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, 1927 (prize), 1938 (prize), 1944 (Carney Prize).
• National Academy of Design, 1929, 1934, 1941.

Permanent Collections:

• New Haven Paint & Clay Club;
• Yale-New Haven Hospital, Hopkins School;
• New Haven City Hall;
• St. Margaret’s School, Waterbury;
• University of Connecticut, Storrs;
• St. John’s Memorial Chapel, Waterbury, Connecticut;
• Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, California.

Bibliography:

• Who was Who in American Art 1564-1975 Vol. III