Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Frederic Whitaker began his working career as an apprentice designer with W. J. Feeley and Co., manufacturers of metal-ware, where he soon rose to head of design.
During this time Whitaker was also actively painting, working mainly in watercolors, and in 1949 he retired from business to devote all his attention to painting, writing, and art-related philanthropic activities.
Whitaker was a member of the National Academy of Design, served seven years as president of the American Watercolor Society,[1] and founded Audubon Artists,[2] whose purpose is to speak for all aspects of the visual arts.
Whitaker's wife Eileen Monaghan Whitaker, married in 1943, was also a painter of note -- a member of the American Watercolor Society, the recipient of many awards, and in 1978 she became the second woman elected to the National Academy of Design's watercolor division.
Over his career Whitaker received more than 150 awards from art organizations across the United States, among them the Horatio Alger Award, and was made a Fellow of Britain's Royal Society of Arts.