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THE PRAISES OF SINGER
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Evan and Suzanne Morris of Marlboro in Stark County appreciate Clyde Singer's painting "Early Edition" at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown. The people in the artwork are reading The Vindicator.
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IMITATING ART: Richie Jones of Struthers portrays the sultry dame in Singer's "Broadway."
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A HIT: Jaque Brauninger, left, of Hubbard and Dixie Booth of LIberty examine Clyde Singer's football painting at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown.
Butler exhibit shows America’s true colors
An aficionado described the artist as ‘a very gentle, sweet man who loved to watch sports on television.’
YOUNGSTOWN — He painted in his basement on a crude easel with a one-bulb lamp with aluminum foil to reflect the light, Cleo Clark Williams said of renowned Youngstown artist Clyde Singer.
Cleo and her husband, Bill, were at the Butler Institute of American Art on Sunday, the first day of “Clyde Singer’s America,” an exhibit of his works that span an extensive artistic career.
The exhibition, which runs through Jan. 4, features the largest collection of Singer paintings ever displayed, said Butler Director Lou Zona. Another Singer exhibit is running concurrently at the Canton Museum of Art.
The Williamses, of Canton, have several Singer paintings and were personally acquainted with the artist.
“We visited his home several times, and when we came to the Butler, we would stop and chat,” said Mrs. Williams, who paints under the name of Cleo Clark and has exhibited her work many times at Butler shows.
She described Singer as “very gentle, sweet man who loved to watch sports on television.”
Singer was a curator at the Butler for 50 years and for nearly 60 years wrote an art column for The Vindicator. Interestingly, one of his paintings shows a man reading The Vindicator.
“I feel as though I knew him,” Suzanne Morris, originally of Boardman, said of Singer.
While a student at Youngstown State University, she would come to the Butler for a quiet place to study. “As an 18- or 19-year-old, I didn’t approach him and introduce myself, but occasionally I would see Clyde hanging pictures,” said Morris, who began her teaching career at Bennett Elementary School in Youngstown.
Morris and her husband, Evan, also have several Singer paintings, including one titled “The Old Jail,” which portrays the old Malvern Jail. The Morrises live on a farm in Marlboro and are starting a vineyard.
“I like to see how he changed over time, and I think his paintings show it,” said Priscilla Stinson of New Middletown.
“In his earlier years, the people are not as soft as after his New York era,” said Richard Palmer, also of New Middletown, who was visiting the Butler with Stinson.
She noted that several of his paintings feature a blond woman, often wearing a gold dress, who is youthful and sexy. The portrait of his wife is more introspective, she said.
John Neal of Boardman, who works for the German firm Metallurgica, which has its North American headquarters in Canfield, brought two German technical service engineers to see the Butler and the Singer exhibit on Sunday. Neal’s wife, Kathleen, is a former Butler docent.
“We invariably bring fellow employees visiting here from Germany to the Butler. It’s first-class and it specializes in American art. And of course, Clyde Singer is Youngstown,” said Neal.
Born in 1908, Singer grew up in Malvern, Ohio, the son of a coal miner-turned-farmer. He settled in the Youngstown area in 1940 and lived here until his death in 1999.
alcorn@vindy.com