THE BEGINNING

"From the Causeway" by Al Sprague
This was Sprague's first painting.

As a teenager, my father, Al Sprague spent a lot of time in trouble.  One day he came home after getting in trouble in school and his mother met him the door.  His mother, Josephine Sprague, was an artist herself.  She gave my father an easel, paints, brushes, and a blank canvas.  She handed all the supplies to my father and told him not to return until he completed a painting.  My father took everything with him and headed out to the causeway where he painted "From the Causeway" (shown above).  Upon returning home, my grandmother asked him, "So, what did you think?"  He responded with, "I loved it."  At that moment she promised to send him to school to get a degree in art as long as he commited himself to art.  The rest is history.....

Al Sprague first entered into Mississippi Southern but later transferred to American University in Washington D.C. where he earned a Master's Degree in Fine Art.  During his educational track, Sprague painted his surroundings of Washington D.C. and Virginia.  Much of this work was shown in galleries in Richmond and Arlington. 

In 1967, Sprague returned to Panama where he began his career of painting Panama.  He has since become one of the most recognized artist of Panama with works displayed in some of the most respected collections around the world.