Frank J. Dillon

Frank J. Dillon (né Joseph Franklin Dillon; 1867–1954) was an African American artist and stained-glass designer who exhibited widely through the Harmon Foundation in the 1930s. He won an Honorable Mention in the foundation's competition for Black artists in 1929. Dillon's medium was oils and watercolors, and he produced still lifes, portraits and landscapes.

Early life and education Dillon was born in Mount Holly, New Jersey He attended Saint Augustine Normal School and Collegiate Institute from 1883 to 1887 and Oberlin College in Ohio from 1887 to 1889. He took art classes at the Art Students League and the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art (now the University of the Arts).

In 1895, two of Dillon's watercolors and a portrait study were shown in the Negro Building at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta. In an article, the Pittsburgh Daily Post identified him as a designer for one of the largest stained-glass companies in the country. The newspaper noted that he had "contributed two watercolors of a fair degree of excellence and a portrait study in oils that is even more worthy of praise."

By the late 1920s, when the Harmon Foundation began its competition and shows, Dillon was much older than the other Black artists who competed for monetary prizes. When the show traveled to Indianapolis in 1930, the local newspaper noted his age of 63.”

He competed in the Harmon competition for the first time in 1929, garnering an Honorable Mention. They were part of the foundation’s traveling show across the United States. Dillon was represented in those shows through the 1930s.

Dillon's works and his name were often mentioned in newspapers alongside some of the better-known artists at that time, many like him who were employed in other jobs. During the New York opening, his works caught the attention of several people who were ready to purchase.

In Louisville, KY, one of his still lifes was singled out again in 1929: “The Still Life of Frank J. Dillon shows the influence of practice with stained glass and the big blue dish has the quality more of an enamel. His ‘Christ Blessing Little Children’ reminds somewhat of the less stormy windows by Kent in the English churches.”

Dillon entered the Harmon competition again in 1933. In 1990, he was represented in the Newark Museum's exhibit "Against the Odds: African American Artists and the Harmon Foundation." 135th Street Branch of the New York Public Library, New York, 1933. Harmon Foundation College Art Association, 1934–35. Atlanta University Library, 1936. Wednesday Art Club, Spokane, WA, 1936. Dillard University, New Orleans, 1938. Dillard University, New Orleans, 1941. St. Joseph (MO) YWCA, "Apple Blossoms", 1942. Montclair Art Museum. New Jersey, 1946. Hampton University Museum, 1987. The painting shows Simon of Cyrene assisting Jesus in carrying the cross.

Both Dillon and Cooper were associated with St. Augustine's and Oberlin College. Their connection was mentioned in a1940 newspaper article pertaining to his work in an exhibit. He was a “well-known Negro painter of Mt. Holly … said to be the only colored person so advanced in the art of stained glass designing as to make it a full-time profession. While a student of Dr. Anna J. Cooper at St. Augustine Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina, he was encouraged to pioneer in this field. Several of his windows may be seen at Frelinghuysen University in Washington, D.C.“ The university no longer exists.

At the time, Dillon had been working for Oesterle for 10 years.

Personal life Dillon and his wife Leontine were the parents of five children. They lived in Mt. Holly, NJ, and were often mentioned in the Philadelphia Tribune's society pages.