A native of Willow City, North Dakota, Raymond M. Fred was born in 1918. He left the small town in the north central region of the state to study art at the Minot State Teachers College. In 1947, he earned a Master of Arts degree from the University of North Dakota, where he completed his thesis project, a mural created with oil paints entitled “The Mind of Poe” under the tutelage of Paul Barr. He also painted with tempera (dry pigments with egg yolk and distilled water) and casein (made, in part, with milk extract). Upon graduation, he accepted a position as chair of the Art Department at the Mayville State Teachers College, where he taught for the rest of his career.

- Ben Nemenoff

Bibliography:

• Barr, Paul E. North Dakota Artists. Grand Forks: University of North Dakota Library, 1954.