Theodore Franklin Appleby

Theodore Franklin Appleby, Jr., an Abstract Impressionist artist, was born January 28, 1923 in Asbury Park, New Jersey. He attended the Pauling School in New York City, where he was captain of the football and basketball teams. He studied at the atelier of John Corneal.

On December 12, 1942, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, and saw action in 1945 in the Marshall Islands – namely Kwajalein, Eniwetok, and Engebi. From 1945-1946, he was stationed at Yokohama, where he studied Japanese engravings. He remained in the Pacific Theater until his discharge as a Sergeant in 1946.

During a stay in Mexico from 1947-1948, he studied monumental mural painting at St. Michele de Allende University.

The following year he went to Paris. He regularly visited the atelier of Fernand Leger and was represented every year from 1950-1952 in the Salon de Novelles Realitees. Appleby is one of numerous Americans who became part of the artistic Parisian scene.

From 1955 to 1961, Appleby was part of group expositions in Chicago, Leverkusen, Germany, Lisbon, Portugal, London, England, Paris, France, and others. He also organized three solo exhibitions during this period. In 1957, his work was celebrated by the Chicago Art Institute.

Appleby later moved to the South of France, settling in Alba Ardeche until his death in 1987. He was predeceased by his wife, artist Hope Manchester. He is survived by his sister, Mrs. Levis Minford of Linville, North Carolina, and brother, Thomas Appleby, Sr. of Ocean City, New Jersey.