Frank Cassara: 1913 - 2017

Stamps Professor Emeritus Frank Cassara passed away on January 13, 2017.

Professor Cassara retired from the Stamps faculty in 1983, following nearly 40 years of service to the University. A distinguished and innovative printmaker and paper artist, Professor Cassara’s work can be found in major museums around the world, and generations of creative practitioners count him among their greatest influencers. Notable among Professor Cassara’s many accomplishments was his work to bring attention to the realities of the Great Depression in Michigan and Detroit through his role with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Arts Program. As supervisor of the WPA/FAP’s easel painting program in Michigan, he produced murals and other works that visualized the impacts of job strikes, unemployment, and the range of social tensions facing Detroit and other communities.

Our own Print @ Stamps Tumblr features the work of Professor Cassara, described by the National Academy Museum and others as one of the most important American artists of his generation.