This is going around Facebook with the following explanation:
“My mom found this behind a picture she bought at a garage sale. The artist is K.B. Ransley - Chicago circa 1943. Please help to share this through Facebook and any other social media in hopes of finding his family. I'm sure they would love to have it!” (https://www.facebook.com/lori.seifert.3)
The artist, K.B. Ransley made over 1400 of these portraits of military passing through Chicago during WWII, according to this website:
“Kenneth Brown Ransley (March 21, 1893-June 12, 1989) was a female portrait artist who painted thousands of paintings in her lifetime.
A native of Dawson, Ga., she studied art at the School of Art Institute of Chicago and met her husband, artist Frank T. Ransley, while in school. The couple settled in Park Ridge, Ill., where Kenneth painted portrait commissions and held open studio sessions with live models.
Park Ridge attracted many artists. "Other artists who also lived and worked in Park Ridge include Albert Krehbiel and his wife, Dulah Evans Krehbiel, Alfonso Iannelli, Grant Wood, Eugene Romeo, Kenneth Brown Ransley."
During World War II, she donated her talents to the war effort, visiting the Service Men's Center in Chicago twice a week to sketch portraits of enlisted men. She executed 1,400 or these portraits and gave them to either the sitter or his family.He looks a lot like Kirk Douglas who was in the Navy in WWII.
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9 comments:
I also think it was Kirk Douglas, especially since he is wearing a sailor suit and the fact that Kirk joined the Navy in 1943. Maybe the artist's family would prefer having it, or you could send it to Kirk as a belated 97th birthday gift.
Yes, when I first saw this picture my first thoughts were also that he looked like Kirk Douglas. Any possibilities that it can be him?
Kirk Douglas was a navy officer during WWll not an enlisted sailor. His uniform would be different.
jack Palance - Curley/City Slicker - 1943 - but in Air Corp
Kenneth (Brown) Ransley was a woman, not a man. I'm curious as to how she got the Christian name of Kenneth. Probably a great story! She was born in Dawson, Terrell Co., Georgia on 21 Mar 1893, daughter of Gerard & Willie M. BROWN. She had siblings Bromley (male) b Feb 1891; anmd Bonny (fem) b Jul 1895.
She married Frank Ransley on 19 Aug 1913 in Georgia. I have a copy of their marriage license.
Are you still looking for descendants? I have a friend that lives in Chicago. I can have her check the phone book there to see if her descendants are still in the area.
Marcia Iannizzi Melnyk
Boston, MA
Memorial services for Kenneth B. Ransley, 96, an artist, will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Park Ridge Community Church, 100 S. Courtland Ave., in the suburb. Mrs. Ransley, a Park Ridge resident, died June 12 in a Park Ridge nursing home. She was a professional artist who did many commissioned works. She also shared her studio with a painting group from 1936 until 1987 when she went into a nursing home. She was active in the Girl Scouts, and owned the first movie theater in Park Ridge. She is survived by a daughter, Marion Gloger; a son, Gilbert; eight grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
From the June 29th, 1989 Chicago Tribune.
It was a Victorian fad to give boy names to girls. I'm one of her great-granddaughters.
I own around 30-40 original Kenneth Brown Ransley paintings, drawings etc. they are for sale if interested.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2016/01/11/park-ridge-artists-portraits-featured-in-new-iannelli-studios-exhibit/
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