ABOUT
The Joyous Art of Living
For those lucky enough to know him, J. Fred Schoellkopf III was a gentle, intelligent, and positive person who filled the lives of everyone he knew with color and laughter. “Big Pops” will always be remembered by his granddaughter, Anna, for their giggle-filled rides on his wheelchair and his kind and generous disposition.
Born in Dallas, Texas, Fred attended the Hotchkiss School and then Princeton University, where he majored in geology and wrote his thesis titled “Physiography and Paleontology in Dallas County, Texas.” After graduating in 1953, he spent two years as a naval officer aboard a cargo vessel supplying bases in Trinidad and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Deciding a career in geology wasn’t as appealing as he’d imagined, Fred began a new career as a financial advisor selling securities in Dallas.
On November 22, 1963, Fred was at his office a mere 10 blocks away from Dealey Plaza when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The tragedy shocked Fred into completely reevaluating his life and career trajectory. After much contemplation, Fred decided to forgo his career in finance and instead focus on what he truly loved: art.
Fred studied art at North Texas University before moving to California to pursue his master’s degree at Claremont Graduate University. In school, Fred studied Josef Albers’s theory of color and decided to make color the focus of his work. Graduating in 1968 with his MFA degree, he embarked on a career as a painter with an emphasis in geometric abstraction and color theory.
While creating large-scale artworks in a loft in Pasadena, California, Fred met the love of his life and perfect match, Eileen Reekie. For more than 46 years the couple raised a family together, loved each other and their communities fiercely, and traveled widely throughout the world. More than just sightseers, they integrated themselves into the cultures they visited by supporting and collecting the artwork of local artists. Fred found inspiration for his own artwork in the vibrant and rich colors of Asia and the patterned marble pavements of the Taj Mahal, both of which he paid homage to in his “Quilt Series.”
Beyond their travels, the Schoellkopfs were passionate about philanthropy, organizing and hosting a number of fundraising galas. In 1990, Fred chaired an A Midsummer Night’s Dream-themed gala for the California Arboretum Foundation (now known as the Los Angeles Arboretum Foundation) that raised more than $42,000 to build an education center on site.
The Schoellkopfs generously supported many local, national, and international charitable organizations, including Hillsides Home for Children, the Pasadena Art Alliance, American Field Service, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Los Angeles Arboretum Foundation, the Junior League of Pasadena, Planned Parenthood, the Migrant Offshore Aid Station Foundation, Black Lives Matter, Music and Memory, Connecticut College, Stanford University, Princeton University, the San Francisco Zoo, Union Station Homeless Services of Pasadena, the Lewy Body Dementia Association, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the World Wildlife Fund, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Feeding America, Feed the Children, Bread for the World, Oxfam America, the Alzheimer’s Association, and their home church, All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, among many others.
Fred’s award-winning work has been exhibited throughout Southern California and the United States, and is currently held in a number of private collections. Though he is gone, Fred’s colorful artwork and generous spirit will forever brighten our lives.
To see some examples of Fred’s work please visit our Gallery page here.
Several of Fred’s paintings are currently available for sale, with all proceeds going to support the Eileen and Fred Schoellkopf Family Foundation.* You can view those pieces here, and for information on available works of art, please contact us here.
* The Eileen and Fred Schoellkopf Family Foundation is committed to empowering individuals and communities without a voice to write their own narratives and to giving a voice to the natural world. The Foundation is dedicated to organizations that support conservation, education, and human dignity and has a particular interest in using films and oral history to bolster underserved populations and to build empathy by educating others.