FRANCIS SPROUT

SPROUT--Francis.

Francis Allen Sprout, 77, of Vero Beach, FL, passed away November 2, 2017. He was born in Arizona in March, 1940, attended Tucson High and studied studio art and art education at the UA (1960s), where he was a scholarship athlete in the area of track and field. He also served in the Arizona National Guard, attending OCS where he was promoted to rank of Lieutenant, and developed a passion for skydiving. He entered the visual art program at University of California, San Diego in 1970 as a Ford Foundation Fellow and graduated with an MFA in 1972. He taught at the University of Denver (72-74) and in 1973 Francis was selected to represent Colorado in the 74th Western Annual at the Denver Art Museum. Thereafter, Francis taught at Metropolitan State College in Denver, where he was awarded Tenure in 1981. In 1984 he took a sabbatical leave and enrolled in the African Studies Program at UCLA where he met his wife- to-be Lucinda Gedeon. He subsequently received his MA in African Studies from UCLA in 1990. In 1987 he returned to Arizona to teach at at the west campus of Arizona State University and in 1991 the Gedeon-Sprouts moved to New York where Francis established a studio in Port Chester. In addition to studio production, he taught art and art history at Purchase College, Manhattanville College, and Pratt Institute of Art. In 2004 they moved to Vero Beach where his studio work and teaching continued - offering classes at IRSC and then at the Museum Art School of the VBMA until May, 2017. Throughout this career, he exhibited widely and his work is represented in many private, corporate and museum collections.