Frank's Niece!

[ginny]

Have you seen any of Frank's pictures? He did a cover for Atlas Shrugged. Really a talented artist. You need to scroll down a bit It. It's right next to a picture of Frank.

Y

http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_ayn_rand_aynrand_timeline's

I didn't think that Frank painted any of the Atlas Shrugged covers, but one of The Fountainhead covers.

Here's a link to a few small black and white versions of some of Frank's paintings:

http://www.objectivistliving.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1545

There are more images of Frank's work here at OL, and I'll post more links as I fing them.

J

Am I wrong, Jonathan? I'm 99.99% sure he did that one. If I'm wrong, sorry. I don't want to confuse Cathy any more. I'm sure I'm right. Someone here will know.

[ginny]

“My interest in his project began when I learned about Ayn Rand and Frank O’Connor,” Smith said. “That interest would have been short lived if I had not read Ellen Donohue Warwick’s (niece of Frank O’Connor) memoir, ‘M.O.M.’ and read a recent biography of Ayn Rand.”

Cathy, the quote is from a long article from your paper, the Morning Journal, from '79. Is Ellen your cousin? Sounds like she has lots of info.

[Cathy]

Yes! Ellen was Aunt Agnes's favorite grand daughter...But I can't remember who was which one of my cousin's was her mother. Aunt Agnes would talk about Ellen all the time! Is she still alive????

[Cathy]

Ginny, is there away you can post that article from the morning journal on here?

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

It's not the memoir, but I found the article:

'Atlas Shrugged' author's Lorain ties: 13th Street home houses bit of history

By JESSICA JAMES

October 27, 2012

The Morning Journal

From the article:

A small piece of history sits at 212 W. 13th St. It’s a home like many that have been lived in since the turn of the 20th century.

The house was first occupied in 1909 by the O’Connor’s, an Irish-American family who came from Johnstown, Penn., to work for The Johnston Steel Rail Co.

The family consisted of seven children, one of whom was named Frank O’Connor, the husband of Alissa Rosenbaum, better known as novelist, Ayn Rand.

There's more at the link. It ends with the line Ginny quoted.

It would be interesting to see that memoir of Ellen Donohue Warwick.

Michael

[Cathy]

The house isn't there anymore. My grandmother died at St Joseph, which is still a hospital today in Lorain. That is the house the smaller children almost burnt down, and that's where they lived when the state took my father and all his sibling's to the orphanage. Thank you Michael. ~Cathy~

[Ellen Stuttle]

In Jan. of 1959, we were a little over a year old.

Pursuing time slots when Ayn and Frank might possibly have passed through the Cleveland area en route to somewhere else...

Rand delivered the talk "The Objectivist Ethics" at the University of Wisconsin Symposium on "Ethics in Our Time" in Madison, Wisconsin, on February 9, 1961.

Whether they went by train, bus, or car, if they took the below-the-Great-Lakes route, they'd have passed by the Cleveland area.

Cathy and her sister would only have been a little more than three, but children sometimes do form clear, accurate memories of selected occurrences at an early age.

I wonder if it might have been then that Aunt Alice visited and told Cathy and her sister the Russian prayer.

Cathy, you said earlier that you recall Aunt Alice wearing a pink shell sort of top, from which you thought the weather was warm, but could the blouse have been worn under a suit jacket which had been taken off?

Ellen

[Jonathan]

Have you seen any of Frank's pictures? He did a cover for Atlas Shrugged. Really a talented artist. You need to scroll down a bit It. It's right next to a picture of Frank.

Yhttp://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_ayn_rand_aynrand_timeline's

I didn't think that Frank painted any of the Atlas Shrugged covers, but one of The Fountainhead covers.

Here's a link to a few small black and white versions of some of Frank's paintings:http://www.objectivistliving.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1545

There are more images of Frank's work here at OL, and I'll post more links as I fing them.

J

Am I wrong, Jonathan? I'm 99.99% sure he did that one. If I'm wrong, sorry. I don't want to confuse Cathy any more. I'm sure I'm right. Someone here will know.

If you're thinking of the first edition cover image, which is the one of golden rails going back in perspective to a tunnel with a glowing red circle above it, that was created by designer/illustrator George Salter.

Perhaps you're thinking of the painting called "Man Also Rises," which was on the cover of he 25th anniversary edition of The Fountainhead, but just misremembering it as an Atlas Shrugged cover? You can see it here (scroll down to the second image):

http://www.verticalsearcher.com/2010/01/man-also-rises.html

J

[Jonathan]

Thank you Jonathan, do you know were his paintings are? He said it was a hobby he was doing...why are they of interest now? Don't tell me he became a famous painter...did he? Some I think are good...but some are weird lol. Can you tell me more about them? I love the one he painted of Aunt Alice! There is so much more I want to tell everyone about them...I miss them all so much. I know they lied but I think they may have did it for our safety, Reminds me about My mother adopted my older sister eighteen years before we were born, she didn't find out that she was adopted until she was twenty five. When she found out, she hit the roof, and didn't speak to my mother for years and years, which broke my mother's heart. It wasn't until my mother had gotten sick before she came back around. What I thought about her at the time even tho I was young was...what a brat, at least she was adopted by my mom. It isn't until this very moment that I completely understand how she felt. I need to call her...

Cathy,

Sorry, but no, I don't know where Frank's paintings are now. I would assume that Leonard Peikoff or others who were close to Rand might have some of them, or perhaps know what happened to them.

Frank didn't become a famous painter. I think people are primarily interested in his work because he was the husband of someone famous whom they admire.

Oh, and sorry for the confusion, but the image of Ayn Rand wasn't painted by Frank. That one is by Ilona Royce Smithkin. Only the first six images were created by Frank.

There are some color versions around here somewhere, and I'll post them when I find them.

J

[ginny]

Thanks, Jonathan. When I'm sure, I'm bound to be wrong.

[Neil Parille]

Ellen,

This is what Cathy said on solo 4/25:

Long distant calls were expensive, but I know they talk on the phone several times a month. Frank and Alice would come about once a year to visit...less at the end.

This is obviously a large number of visits,which might stretch into the early 70s.

-Neil Parille

[Cathy]

Michael, I am not sure if my grandfather's house is still there or not. Last time I looked for it, I thought it was an empty field. Conny still lives in Lorain County and I am going to see of she will go by and see. Ellen, I don't know if she wore a jacket over the top. Do you really think a child of three could remember a prayer in Russian? I don't know, but maybe...I do remember some events as young as three, like my father still living in the house with my mother, among others. But what if they just didn't tell anyone about the visits? James Valliant believes they were protect us...she had several death threat during her years as an activist. Neil, they could have spent the night...I don't remember them doing that, but they could have and I just turned the next day into another trip. We didn't have people often ...really if ever at my father's house...only family. So when any of the family came it, it was exciting. The only other family members that I can remember that came was my cousin charlotte from my mother's side, with her baby and husband. They stayed only an hour because my step mother made them feel uncomfortable so they would leave. Jonathan...he wasn't a very good painter...lol. Does it say anywhere where he would do magic tricks...he was good at that. ~Cathy~

[Ellen Stuttle]

This is obviously a large number of visits,which might stretch into the early 70s.

But Cathy and her sister weren't there in the early 70s, right?

Cathy, when were you sent off to foster homes?

I much doubt that Frank could have visited Ohio in the early 70s - or later.

He had a mild heart attack in early 70, and his health and mental faculties were diminishing.

Cathy, re Ellen Donohue Warwick, if Donohue was her maiden name, would that make her Connie's daughter? Do you remember Connie's husband's name?

Mimi's husband's name was Sutton, and Marna's was Wolf.

Ellen

[Ellen Stuttle]

Cathy, re their not telling anyone about the visits, Ohio is a fair hike from NYC, and the Brandens were in frequent contact with Ayn, living in the same building from mid-63 to the break in 68.

I think the visits would most likely have been on occasions en route to somewhere where AR gave a talk.

Ellen

[PDS]

I have a sincere question: why does any of this matter?

[caroljane]

Ellen and Neil are Rand historians, whether they are writing bios or not. They collect and classify facts about her life with great scrupulousness. I for one am grateful for their scruples.

[Brant Gaede]

I have a sincere question: why does any of this matter?

Because a human being came here trying to figure some things out very important to her in the expectation we might be able to help her. Derivatively, it might help flesh out Ayn Rand and Frank O'Connor a little more. Does this matter to Objectivism? Not much, but I remember them, both in NYC and Boston. What did it matter that I drove to the FHF in 1968 and stopped briefly in Stony Creek, Connecticut? I drove all the way out on a spit of land and the last mailbox had "Rand" printed on it. Why does that interest or matter to me? It's to you, or not. It's to me, or not. It's to Cathy, or not. It's to et al., or not. Etc. OL is as much social as intellectual. Look, does anybody else's life matter? Does yours? Is it "in the long run we're all dead"? Metaphorically I almost feel like I'm giving you CPR.

--Brant

your question upset me

[PDS]

I have a sincere question: why does any of this matter?

Because a human being came here trying to figure some things out very important to her in the expectation we might be able to help her. Derivatively, it might help flesh out Ayn Rand and Frank O'Connor a little more. Does this matter to Objectivism? Not much, but I remember them, both in NYC and Boston. What did it matter that I drove to the FHF in 1968 and stopped briefly in Stony Creek, Connecticut? I drove all the way out on a spit of land and the last mailbox had "Rand" printed on it. Why does that interest or matter to me? It's to you, or not. It's to me, or not. It's to Cathy, or not. It's to et al., or not. Etc. OL is as much social as intellectual. Look, does anybody else's life matter? Does yours? Is it "in the long run we're all dead"? Metaphorically I almost feel like I'm giving you CPR.

--Brant

your question upset me

No need to get huffy, Brant. The question was genuine, and you gave a genuine answer.

Quite frankly, I find your Rand mailbox story more interesting than just about all of the rest of this. That is actually why I asked the question.

[Brant Gaede]

Thank you Jonathan, do you know were his paintings are? He said it was a hobby he was doing...why are they of interest now? Don't tell me he became a famous painter...did he? Some I think are good...but some are weird lol. Can you tell me more about them? I love the one he painted of Aunt Alice! There is so much more I want to tell everyone about them...I miss them all so much. I know they lied but I think they may have did it for our safety, Reminds me about My mother adopted my older sister eighteen years before we were born, she didn't find out that she was adopted until she was twenty five. When she found out, she hit the roof, and didn't speak to my mother for years and years, which broke my mother's heart. It wasn't until my mother had gotten sick before she came back around. What I thought about her at the time even tho I was young was...what a brat, at least she was adopted by my mom. It isn't until this very moment that I completely understand how she felt. I need to call her...

Cathy,

Sorry, but no, I don't know where Frank's paintings are now. I would assume that Leonard Peikoff or others who were close to Rand might have some of them, or perhaps know what happened to them.

Frank didn't become a famous painter. I think people are primarily interested in his work because he was the husband of someone famous whom they admire.

Oh, and sorry for the confusion, but the image of Ayn Rand wasn't painted by Frank. That one is by Ilona Royce Smithkin. Only the first six images were created by Frank.

There are some color versions around here somewhere, and I'll post them when I find them.

J

Cathy, if you email me your mailing address I'll send you a print of "Diminishing Returns." It's the one on the upper left of the six, but not from that printing. In that printing, sold by NBI, the colors didn't hold too well. There was another printing by another process about 1971. 100 were signed by Frank and an unknown (by me) unsigned number of others on somewhat inferior(?) stock were printed. The one I have is this last. I used to have a signed one but I traded it away to Barbara Branden a few years ago for some photographs. I found this one real cheap on eBay because it wasn't listed under Ayn Rand, only Frank O'Connor.

brantgaede at aol.com

--Brant

out of my affection for your uncle

[Ellen Stuttle]

Cathy, about a child of three remembering a Russian prayer, a child of three might remember more easily than an older child. Young children are very pliable about language acquisition. Children raised in multi-lingual circumstances easily become multi-lingual.

About the '63 Chicago trip, I wondered how the Brandens and O'Connors got to Chicago, since Heller said that the leg of the trip from Chicago to Portland was AR's first flight. I then thought to look at the end notes (they aren't footnotes, the term I used earlier, but instead consecutive notes at the back of the book). Heller says that neither Barbara nor Nathaniel remembers how they traveled to Chicago. Maybe they went by plane, and Frank and Ayn by car.

I'll look through the announcements in the Newsletter and The Objectivist for other possible trips.

---

PDS, ditto Brant's upset at your question. It matters to Cathy!!

Ellen

[PDS]

Cathy, about a child of three remembering a Russian prayer, a child of three might remember more easily than an older child. Young children are very pliable about language acquisition. Children raised in multi-lingual circumstances easily become multi-lingual.

About the '63 Chicago trip, I wondered how the Brandens and O'Connors got to Chicago, since Heller said that the leg of the trip from Chicago to Portland was AR's first flight. I then thought to look at the end notes (they aren't footnotes, the term I used earlier, but instead consecutive notes at the back of the book). Heller says that neither Barbara nor Nathaniel remembers how they traveled to Chicago. Maybe they went by plane, and Frank and Ayn by car.

I'll look through the announcements in the Newsletter and The Objectivist for other possible trips.

---

PDS, ditto Brant's upset at your question. It matters to Cathy!!

Ellen

Of course it matters to Cathy.

Was it not implicit in my question as to why it should matter to anybody else?

[Jonathan]

Jonathan...he wasn't a very good painter...lol.

He was a student. Some aspects of his work are good. I think that he maybe had a natural eye for certain elements of painting, but not for others.

I think you're right that he looked at painting as a hobby, despite the fact that Rand and some of her followers wanted to give the impression that painting was becoming his career and that he was excelling at it. From what I've read of him, he painted because he enjoyed it, and he pretty much ignored most of the romanticized pushiness and unsolicited artistic advice that he would get from Ayn or members of her circle of followers. I'm not sure, but from what I've picked up in bits and pieces about him over the years, I've gotten the sense that he seemed to have been much more aware and accepting than those around him of the fact that he was a student artist, and not the virtuoso that others wanted to believe that he was. I think the important thing is that he was enjoying learning to paint, regardless of how good or bad he was, and despite the silly expectations and pressures that he might have gotten from others.

Does it say anywhere where he would do magic tricks...he was good at that. ~Cathy~

I don't remember hearing before that he did magic tricks, but it makes sense that he would be interested in illusions, and be good at them. It fits well with what I've heard about his personality.

J

[Brant Gaede]

I have a sincere question: why does any of this matter?

Because a human being came here trying to figure some things out very important to her in the expectation we might be able to help her. Derivatively, it might help flesh out Ayn Rand and Frank O'Connor a little more. Does this matter to Objectivism? Not much, but I remember them, both in NYC and Boston. What did it matter that I drove to the FHF in 1968 and stopped briefly in Stony Creek, Connecticut? I drove all the way out on a spit of land and the last mailbox had "Rand" printed on it. Why does that interest or matter to me? It's to you, or not. It's to me, or not. It's to Cathy, or not. It's to et al., or not. Etc. OL is as much social as intellectual. Look, does anybody else's life matter? Does yours? Is it "in the long run we're all dead"? Metaphorically I almost feel like I'm giving you CPR.

--Brant

your question upset me

No need to get huffy, Brant. The question was genuine, and you gave a genuine answer.

Quite frankly, I find your Rand mailbox story more interesting than just about all of the rest of this. That is actually why I asked the question.

I read decades later--comparatively recently--that the man who rented the room to Ayn and Frank where Ayn worked on The Fountainhead, remembered her and he was still in Stony Creek. I have always wondered if the name "Rand" on that mailbox matched up to whom lived in its house over-looking Long Island Sound. I've had a few strange and coincidental things happen to me in my life, but to be going to see and hear Ayn at the FHF for the first time after arriving in NYC the previous spring after three years in the army and one in Vietnam and five after reading AS in the summer of 1963 and just after the Big Break that roiled Objectivism, seemed strange beyond strange to see that name there for in a sense I was looking for it but didn't know that until I was looking at it. I took it as sort of a personal grace that took up permanent residence in my person. This is not religious for the cultism is long gone but that remains. Another time, nothing to do with Ayn Rand, . . .

--Brant

huff, huff, huffy--whew!

[Cathy]

Ellen, Elizabeth was the youngest of the O'Connor children born to Mary (Minnie and Dennis O'Connor). We called her aunt Bess...and you got it...I remember that Ellen is Aunt Bess's daughter! It wasn't Aunt Agnes's grandchild it was another niece. I remember now that we were jealous of her...if my aunt loved her more.I Didn't remember that until you said Elizabeth, thank you. Is she still living??? I think I better start writing down all these memories, I don't want to lose them again. Ellen couldn't be that much older than us...I don't think. She could still be alive. We left my father's home in early 71, it was way before that was the last time I seen Uncle Frank and Aunt Alice. I believe the last time was in 69. I also now believe the conversation between my father and Aunt Agnes was in 69/70 because we were not in my father's house most of the year of 71. Ellen, I just remembered that Denny Donahue (one of the other set of twins) is the last remaining cousin's I have...he was Ellen's brother and he is well up in his 70's. The twin boy's Denny and Danny were the youngest of Aunt Bess's children:( ~Cathy~

[Cathy]

PFD, if you are not interested in these post, then why are you here? I don't know about the others, but I don't care if you think this post should matter or not, your opinion does not matter to me!