Francis Sumner Merritt papers, circa 1930-1980

Francis Sumner Merritt (1913-2000) was a painter, designer, and arts administrator. He was the first director of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine.

Merritt was born in 1913 in Danvers, Massachusetts. He studied art at multiple schools, including Yale University School of Fine Arts and was a printmaker and painter. In addition to his art, Merritt taught painting at Colby Junior College, the Cranbrook Summer Institute, and Bradford Junior College. Merritt began his arts administrative career as director of the Flint Institute of Art in Detroit, Michigan. He was brought on to be the first director at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine. In this position, he encouraged the international study of craft.

Francis Merritt was married to Priscilla Merritt, with whom he had two sons. He died in Belfast, Maine in 2000.