Frederic S. “Fritz” Briggs, a noted watercolorist, teacher and scion of the prominent Schuler family of Baltimore artists, died of undetermined causes Aug. 19 at Keswick Multi-Care Center in Roland Park.
He was 87 and lived in Baltimore.
“Fritz did remarkable watercolors and was an excellent teacher,” said Mary Ruth Buchness, a landscape artist and former student.
“He was extremely intelligent, very well-educated, kind and had a wonderfully warm personality. He was a lot of fun to be around,” she said. “He shared his knowledge with his students and took them on painting tours to England and Europe.”
Frederic Schuler Briggs, was the son of Howard Briggs, a professor of history at what is now Frostburg State University, and Charlotte Schuler Briggs, a homemaker.
His maternal grandfather was Hans Schuler Sr., a sculptor and Maryland Institute College of Art teacher who lived at 7 East Lafayette Ave., where Mr. Briggs was born.
He was raised in Frostburg and was a graduate of the old Beall High School, now Mountain Ridge High School.
Mr. Briggs attended what was then Frostburg State College and earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in 1960 from MICA.
He then served for two years in the Army’s Department of Special Services at West Point as an illustrator, and after being discharged in 1963, began teaching at The Schuler School of Fine Arts.
The school, established by his grandfather and located in his grandparent’s Lafayette Avenue home, is where Mr. Briggs lived his entire life inside an apartment above the studio.
“Fritz Briggs influenced so many people because he had taught for so many years and his classes were very popular,” Mrs. Buchness said.
“He worked in watercolors and taught principles of landscape painting and composition to so many people,” said Francesca Schular Guerin, Mr. Briggs’ cousin, who now heads the school.
Mr. Briggs’ work can be found in many private collections, and he also executed commissions for Christmas cards, including those for several Maryland governors, as well as placemats, books, and prints.
He developed a felt-tip pen technique which allowed him to do quick sketches during his trips abroad, which he later finished when he returned to Baltimore, Ms. Guerin said.
In 1968, he was elected to the prestigious American Watercolor Society, and in 1973, to the Salmagundi Society of New York city, which honored him in 1980 with a first place prize in their annual watercolor exhibition.
Mr. Briggs was also a member of the Baltimore’s Charcoal Club, where he was president for a decade, and the Baltimore Watercolor Society.
Mr. Briggs was still painting and teaching until last year.
He spent weekends, until several years ago, at his boyhood home in Frostburg.
“Fritz conducted summer workshops in Frostburg and we’d go to southern Pennsylvania to paint Amish farms,” Mrs. Buchness said.
Mr. Briggs was a member of the Mayflower Society and a founding member of the National Society of Sons of Colonial New England.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Sept. 28 at the Schuler School at 7 E. Lafayette Ave., with a subsequent gathering from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 29, also at the school.
Mr. Briggs is survived by his brother, Charles Briggs, of Georgia, a niece; a nephew; and many cousins and friends.
