J.B. Frederic Ragot (signed l.r.)
Untitled Landscape
Oil on canvas
48x64 inches

The O’Karma Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of Emile Frederic Ragot’s post-impressionist work at their location on 1119 Hemphill Avenue, Atlanta. Presented will be oil paintings, preparatory studies on board, and pencil studies.

Emile Frederic Ragot was born in Paris in 1872 and schooled at L’Ecole de Beaux Arts. His father, Jules Felix Ragot, was a bronze sculptor. Frederick initially worked in and was recognized for his oils and pastels of landscapes, portraits, and figures. In 1907, the French government had purchased “Crepuscule” to decorate the French legation in Peking. “A l’Abri des Grandes Arbes” was bought by the city of Paris in 1914 and was added to the Louvre Museum’s collection. Frederick was awarded the Gold Prize in the Salon d’Hiver for “Le Cobeau Fleuri” and the Corat Prize. He became a member of the French Artists Society and an officer in the Public Distinction.

Frederic Ragot was concerned with honest and sincere representation of his subject matter and the process of deft execution. His strengths lie in his handling of soft lighting representative of calm mornings and early evenings. He added a mysterious dimension and a sense of poetry to his landscapes occasionally adding nymphs in the backgrounds. His intellectual approach and sensitivity provide for a body of work that brings a certain joy to the eyes and a satisfaction for the spirit.

Frederic Ragot lived with his wife in Paris and maintained a studio above the millinery shop they owned and ran. Family members reported that Frederic would seldom reap a profit for his work choosing to keep favorite pictures rather than to sell them. Later he moved his family to Esbly, France, twenty five miles east of Paris. He occasionally traveled to Normandy to paint the luxuriant countryside and snow-white scenes as well. During World War II, his collection of work was moved from Paris to a warehouse at 52 rue de Chemin de Fer in Eslby for safe keeping. The village was bombed during the war but his work survived. Some of his paintings also had been protected from the Germans, at the castle Chambourg-on-Loiro. Their location had remained a secret until the liberation of Paris in 1944.

Upon his death in 1937, Frederic Ragot’s grandniece, Mme. Germaine Gerier inherited his entire estate including drawings, paintings, furniture, and personal items. Residing in Shreveport, Louisiana, Mme. Gerier consigned his work to local galleries including the Riverside Galleries and sold his pieces to private collectors. His paintings can be seen hanging in the Martha Vick House in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He is listed in Benezit as a major French artist.