Ch. 2 - Brecksville, Cleveland, and Around Ohio

Brecksville, Cleveland, and around Ohio

“I felt more at home on Linwood Street or out on the farm where Mother was raised. The child does not analyze his feelings; he merely reacts and collects such things that remain as symbols of experience.”

The Reunion, Brecksville, Ohio

c. 1920 Oil on canvas 36 x 37 inches 41 x 42.5 inches, as framed

Exhibited: 1927 May Show (1st Place), Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio. Great Lakes Art Exhibition, 1939, Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, New York; Art Gallery of Toronto, Canada; Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio; Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio; Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan; Milwaukee Art Institute, Wisconsin.

See pages 31-32

20 Play Near the Stream, Berlin Heights, Ohio

c. 1910 Watercolor and crayon on paper 18 x 24 inches

After Wilcox’s graduation from the Cleveland School of Art in 1910, he continued to study with Henry Keller in his summer watercolor class taught in Berlin Heights. Wilcox’s summer in Berlin Heights, carefully learning from his mentor, was an extension of his recently completed education. However, this time out of the changing city and in the rural countryside gave Wilcox more artistic perspective and was an “eye-opener to the substance of painting.”

21 Long Shadows in Berlin Heights, Ohio

c. 1912 Oil on board 14.25 x 21 inches

Wilcox returned to Berlin Heights the summer after his first trip abroad to Europe. At this time, Keller urged Wilcox to “express himself Post-Impressionistically.” Though he resisted this feedback from his mentor, he found some value in the method, and began to change his perspective on color.

22 Lowry’s Quarry, Berlin Heights, Ohio

c. 1915 Watercolor on green paper mounted on board 22 x 14 inches

“But just as thrilling to young eyes was the approach from the state road, which afforded a sweeping view of the misty valley. Then flashed scattered roofs and bits of white road up on the hill beyond Chippewa Lake. The direct road, in particular, seemed to lie very steeply while we were traversing what we called the Devil’s Wash Bowl.” -Out in Brecksville

23 Bridge and Devils Wash Bowl, Brecksville, Ohio

c. 1915 Watercolor on paper 10 x 13.25 inches

24 Repairing the Net Reels at Huron, Ohio

c. 1910 Watercolor on paper Signed lower right 15 x 11 inches

“We boys delighted in Keller’s boats, net reels and fish sheds at Huron and Vermillion, as well as the quarry smithies and sawmill in the village.”

25 Net Reels at Huron, Ohio

c. 1910 Watercolor on paper Signed lower right 11 x 15 inches

26 Clark’s Barn, Brecksville, Ohio

c. 1910 Watercolor on paper 21 x 14.5 inches

“Every old farmhouse, wherever it may be, can tell of many a human incident transpiring within its walls, whether tragic, serio-comic, common place, orromantic in its essential character. These may arise from the failures of human nature to meet an issue philosophically or, in contrast, from those rare examples of unheralded courage and fortitude.” -Out in Brecksville

27 Path to Lake, Cleveland, Ohio

c. 1910 Watercolor on paper 12 x 9 inches

28 Engineman at Quarry, Berlin Heights, Ohio

c. 1910-16 Watercolor on paper 21 x 15 inches

“Studying at Berlin Heights was a revelation. The situation was unique in that the place could be reached by two interurban lines and was connected with Milan, Huron, Vermillion, Norwalk and Sandusky - all places affording opportunity for interesting sketching. The place itself was diversely rural, with two stone quarries; both of them topographically unusual. The students boarded in various farm houses, the most popular being Gertie Lowrie’s. This experience was only one of many to follow.”

29 Buggy in Shed, Berlin Heights, Ohio

c. 1910-16 Watercolor on paper 9 x 13 inches 18 x 21 inches, as framed

30 Bustling Public Square, Cleveland, Ohio

1912 Watercolor and graphite on paper 20 x 15 inches 28 x 23 inches, as framed

“Daily bicycling, riding from the South Side, afforded plenty of opportunity to remark the force of the elements and then visible manifestations. I became ever more aware of the altering traffic and the changing appearance of the city.”

31 Public Square & Superior St. from Park Building, Cleveland, Ohio

1912 Watercolor and graphite on paper Signed lower right 13.5 x 9.5 inches

“In those days, such a sharp line was drawn between town and country that it was quite apparent to one of any age or interest. As compared to the present, our city would look relatively rural but we had plenty of smoke to distinguish it. Now I would welcome a sight of the sailing schooners in the flats. The old canal basin, the sight of steeples now, gone, or dwarfed by modern buildings. Then, we were truly the Forest City. Town had attractions we

“Having spent a year in Paris sketching, I naturally turned my eye upon things near home. I found my methods quite applicable to picturesque subjects in town, such as the Old Viaduct, the Old Court House, Old Euclid Avenue churches and such things now treasured as historical records.”

32 Sunset on Church of the Covenant, Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio

c. 1912 Tempera on board Signed lower right 16.5 x 21.5 inches 24.5 x 29 inches, as framed

later associated more with rural scenes such as the blacksmith shop and the livery stable. We passed these on the way to school and always peered in curiosity to see the sparks fly from the anvil or to see the long dim rows of horse stalls and admire the shinning equipages. Sometimes one of these would take us to the country – an all day journey but every minute of it something to be remembered.”

33 Along the Chagrin River, Ohio

c. 1915 Watercolor on paper 11.25 x 15 inches 16 x 20 inches, as matted

34 June Morning, Cleveland, Ohio

c. 1915 Watercolor on paper 11 x 15.5 inches

A depiction of E. W. Stocker, seated to the far left, listening to a quarryman violinist on the Snow family farm. Owen Snow was a great lover of music. His wife, Frances Snow, would also play the violin in an unusual way. Instead of holding the instrument under her chin, she would play it upon her lap, as though it were a cello.

35 Italian Musicians / Quarrymen in Brecksville

c. 1915 Fresco on plaster board 24 x 22 inches

36 Study for Italian Musicians / Quarrymen in Brecksville

c. 1915 Tempera on board 22 x 28 inches Galleon (verso), signed lower right, dated ‘19

“At dances, which followed all weddings, the music was usually a single fiddle, in Brecksville played by a popular mulatto gentleman. Within the home circle, Uncle Owen’s wife, Aunt Frank, did the playing. As a child she had learned to hold the fiddle vertically on her knee, and she continued to do so throughout her life. She used to include in her repertoire such tunes as ‘Haste to the Wedding,’ ‘Arkansas Traveler,’ and ‘Turkey in the Straw.’ Once, the younger people took her to town to see a great violinist, but Uncle Owen said he preferred to hear his wife play, because the fellow started to play a good tune and never finished it.” -Out in Brecksville

37 Italian Musicians / Quarrymen in Brecksville at Sunset

c. 1915 Oil on canvas 50 x 40 inches

Wilcox painted The Reunion from his powerful memory of his family’s 1896 reunion. “Our family reunions, now almost forgotten locally, owed much to the closely knit ties that bind clans who seldom leave their native heath. This annual meeting took place in late August or early September, after harvest was over. But even so, it was often remarked that so-and-so could not come, on account of farm work. Even if his family was present, practically every farmer

38 The Reunion, Brecksville, Ohio

c. 1920 Oil on canvas 36 x 37 inches 41 x 42.5 inches, as framed

would ‘hitch up’ when the sun was still high in order to get back in time for the milking. First, whoever was that year’s host to entertain the interrelated households built tables and benches under the trees of his dooryard or in some nearby pine grove...I remember how festive the pine grove looked when the ladies began to place the tablecloth and set out the plates, knives, and forks….One likes to remember this bucolic scene under the checkered shade, the white dresses of the younger girls, and the little children running about among their more stolid elders. In the distance loomed the hazy summer hills, and mild breezes awoke the harping sound of the pine trees.” -Out in Brecksville

Photograph of the Snow Family Reunion in 1896. Wilcox, at the age of 9 years old, is the third child on the left, seated in the first row.

“It has always been a question in my mind if environment, as a constant influence, is as effective in fostering a bent as occasional and more treasured experience. I believe that these relatively rare holidays in the country developed a liking for the rural scene. Friends and co-workers who were raised upon farms often seem to prefer other subject matter in their creative artistic work.”

39 Midday Plowing

c. 1915 Watercolor and graphite on paper 21 x 30 inches 25 x 34 inches, as framed

40 Women’s Corner, Along the Cuyahoga River

c. 1916 Watercolor and graphite on paper 21 x 29 inches 25 x 33 inches, as framed

41 Stage House, Brecksville, Ohio

c. 1936 Oil on canvas Signed lower right 34.5 x 38.25 inches 41.75 x 45.5 inches, as framed Exhibited: 1936 May Show, Cleveland Museum of Art.

42 On the Back Porch, Brecksville, Ohio

c. 1922 Watercolor on paper Monogram lower right 21.5 x 27. 5 inches 26.5 x 32.5 inches, as framed Starting from the left, Uncle Harry Snow, his daughter either Jeanette or Charlotte, Grandma Snow, and his wife, Aunt Alice are pictured on the porch of what was called “the other house” of the two Snow family homes in Brecksville.

Photograph of the Snow grandchildren “On the Back Porch”

“The first district schools were log houses... A certain few were built of brick. Such schoolhouses were often to be found in very isolated locations, but intentionally so, to serve the convenience of the greater number of pupils, or ‘scholars,’ as they were commonly called. They also served as meeting places for political and other practical purposes.” -Out in Brecksville

43 The Entertainment

c. 1955 Watercolor on paper Signed lower right 20 x 30 inches 23 x 33 inches, as framed Exhibited: 1955 May Show, Cleveland Museum of Art.

44 Grandma Snow Sewing

1912 Tempera on board Dated lower right 18 x 16 inches 20 x 18 inches, as framed

45 Mary Wilcox at Age 6

1925 Watercolor on paper Signed lower left 21.5 x 14.5 inches An intimate portrait of the artist’s daughter, Mary Wilcox, at the age of 6 years old.

46 Mary Waking

c. 1925 Watercolor on paper 13.75 x 20 inches

“We were fortunate in that the two farms in Brecksville were still open to our visits. The urbanization of the township was then only beginning and we spent several summers there where I tried to capture something of the rural peace so soon to be erased from the countryside.”

47 The Wood Chopper, Brecksville, Ohio

c. 1917 Oil on masonite 33 x 24 inches 39 x 31 inches, as framed Exhibited: “Water Colors and Oils by Frank N. Wilcox,” Cleveland Museum of Art, January 1937.

48 The Saw Mill, Brecksville, Ohio

c. 1922 Watercolor on paper 17.5 x 12.5 inches

49 Study for Haymow, Brecksville, Ohio

c. 1922 Watercolor on paper 18 x 24 inches

“The summer Mary was three years old, I began to get the hang of tonality in relation to the mood of a composition. We were living in an old house in Brecksville, and part of the time I commuted to summer school. At this time, I was better able to work hard and fast than any time before or since. There was no phase of sky or play of light or shadow that escaped me in that wellloved neighborhood. It had been a part of my childhood, and now I had the professional skill to interpret it.”

50 Plowman, Brecksville, Ohio

c. 1922 Watercolor on paper Signed lower right 22.5 x 27.75 inches

“Being a city boy I had no experience with farm machinery, but knew well the dangers of mowing machines, corn huskers and the like. Having a little experience with horses, I could appreciate the risks in driving them.” -Out in Brecksville

51 Binder, Brecksville, Ohio

c. 1922 Watercolor on paper 18 x 24 inches

“After Father’s death, I felt bound to respect Uncle Harry’s ideas much as I would have respected Father’s own. During one summer about this time, by haying and harvesting for Uncle Elwin Carter, I learned respect for farming to a degree and also got over any sense of urban-class superiority toward farming people. My very first lesson came from being told I could take the shady side of the load because they wished to break me in easy. With the sun constantly in my eye, I pitched hay all afternoon until about ready to drop.” -Out in Brecksville

52 In the Hay Barn, Brecksville, Ohio

c. 1935 Watercolor on paper mounted on board Monogram lower right 15 x 20 inches

53 Man Plowing

c. 1922 Graphite on paper Signed lower right 12 x 18 inches 19 x 21.5 inches, as framed

55 The Forge

c. 1957 Watercolor on board Signed lower left 22 x 30 inches

54 In the Hay Barn, Brecksville, Ohio

c. 1935 Watercolor on paper 9.25 x 13 inches

56 Brecksville Congregational Church from Front, Ohio,

c. 1935 Watercolor on paper Signed lower right 27.5 x 21.5 inches

57 Study for Brecksville Congregational Church from Front, Ohio,

c. 1935 Watercolor and graphite on paper 14.75 x 11 inches

“No doubt the fact that we visited the farm at all seasons of the year developed in myself at least an appreciation of the significant tones of weather and all the moods pervading Nature. We visited there under many circumstances when human events colored our spirits variously and made us see things in a light reflecting our own mood. This is, perhaps, as to faithfully transcribe the literal phenomena of Nature.”

58 Bratton’s Garden, Brecksville, Ohio

c. 1922 Tempera and watercolor on board Signed lower right 28 x 22 inches

59 Near the Ohio River, Monroe Co., Ohio

c. 1921 Watercolor on paper 12.25 x 18.5 inches

60 Dry Dock at Akron, Ohio

c. 1921 Watercolor on paper 12.25 x 18.5 inches

61 Duck Hunting at Dawn

c. 1922 Watercolor on Whatman board Signed lower right 15 x 21.5 inches 24 x 30 inches, as framed

62 Uncle Harry Plowing Near Sithelm’s, Brecksville, Ohio

c. 1922 Watercolor on Whatman board 15 x 21 inches 24 x 30 inches, as framed

63 Baltimore & Ohio Railway Bridge 1 across the Cuyahoga River, Cleveland, Ohio

c. 1924 Watercolor on paper 15 x 21 inches 24 x 30 inches, as framed

Baltimore & Ohio Railway Bridge 1 is a rolling Scherzer (named for the Chicago engineer William Scherzer) lift bridge and is believed to be the longest of its type. Its longest span is 230 feet, and it was constructed in 1907.

64 Banks of Chippewa, Ohio

c. 1934 Conté crayon and gouache on paper Signed lower right 13.5 x 15.75 inches

“Being given such impressions of a district at an early age makes for a wider knowledge of the surrounding territory that might be disappointing to visiting strangers. When we boys were old enough to explore the full length of the Chippewa, we discovered that it arose upon a flat and rather empty plateau, far less interesting than the old neighborhood, but probably constituting a better location, originally, for farming.” -Out in Brecksville

65 Backyard in Texas, Ohio

c. 1945 Watercolor on paper 18 x 24 inches

An autumn scene with Nela Park in the background, the headquarters of General Electric Lighting, rendered in watercolor. Wilcox also completed commercial drawings and posters for Nela Park later in his career.

66 Backyards Near Nela Park, East Cleveland

c. 1950 Watercolor and graphite on paper Signed lower right 21 x 27 inches 27 x 32 inches, as framed