The Men behind the
Paintings…The People behind the Museum
Twenty-eight folks braved stormy weather Thursday evening to
listen as Pooch Blackson related the story of the brothers
Clark—Benton and Matt—at the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum. Pooch
introduced the evening’s chronicle as he laid claim to
Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum as our museum, recounting the
origins of the collection bequeathed to the city of Coshocton by
the Johnson brothers with instructions that a museum be
created. He reminded the group that our museum was
originally housed in the old elementary school on Sycamore
Street. He then launched into the lives of the Clark brothers
making the connection that Benton and Matt Clark both attended
this very school during their boyhood in Coshocton.
Coshocton was home to the Clarks from their births through their
high school years. From here they went on to study art in New
York and Chicago, becoming internationally known for their
paintings and illustrations. In the 1930s and 40s many of their
works donned the pages of celebrated magazines such as The
Saturday Evening Post, Colliers, Cosmopolitan
and McCall’s. The brothers’ work also appears in books,
on calendars and cards, as well as commissioned oils. After
high-profile careers, Matt remained in New York, but Benton
returned to Coshocton to spend the remainder of his days. Pooch
used a 1983 account written by Mrs. Tidbaugh Wisenbach for The
New Century Club as a framework for the evening’s dialogue,
interspersing his own recollections of Benton and those of
community members who had dealings with him during his Coshocton
tenure. Many of those present shared their own stories or added
details to the stories Pooch conveyed. Fred Workman told of
Benton having a very large dog, for a period of time, sharing
his quarters “above Workman’s restaurant.” Some of Benton’s
cronies proceeded to build a huge doghouse, complete with double
front doors. The elaborate structure was then delivered to
Benton’s small apartment for the dog’s use inside the
apartment. Another tale was passed on about the time Benton
called a taxi from Workman’s Restaurant, where he spent a good
deal of time. He asked to be driven to the fire station which
was directly across the street. The perplexed driver, after
making sure he understood the request, deposited Benton across
the street. It was speculated that Benton must have sold a
painting that day and had loose change in his pocket, the loose
change being an uncommon occurrence. These and other tales had
the “remember when” flavor savored by the group.
During his talk Pooch referred, with anecdotes, to many
individual paintings on the walls of the gallery, identifying
the Coshocton resident who donated the particular piece implying
community ownership of the exhibit as well as the Museum. He
also relayed that Matt Clark’s son flew in from New York to be
present at the opening reception for the show on May 19. Matt
Jr. gave a short account of his father and his uncle, Benton,
mentioning how their Coshocton upbringing had influenced their
works. There was a tangible pride sparkling in the eyes of
those present at this event as the talk became a discussion.
Participants lingered, talking and viewing the paintings and
illustrations that had been given new life by this experience.
All left our museum with the smile of community pride on
their faces.
It
takes group involvement to keep a museum going. The Benton and
Matt Clark exhibit is a case in point. Pooch Blackson spent a
year gathering contacts and then arranged for folks to bring
their artwork to the Museum—a major undertaking. Ohio Heritage
Bank assisted by being the financial backer for the exhibit.
Twenty-seven people loaned us their paintings and nine
volunteers helped the staff install the exhibit. More
volunteers helped with the opening reception. The faces behind
the Museum are the same ones we see at church or at the
supermarket. It truly is their museum. Artwork by
Benton and Matt Clark is on display at the Museum through
July 30.
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