John McClusky was the founder of the Fredericksburg Art Guild.
One of our members, Dorothy Stehling, was a charter member of the
Fredericksburg Art Guild.
She began taking art lessons from Mr. McClusky in his Fredericksburg
Art Classes in 1971. She recently brought in the article below written by
Sherryl Brown for her presentation to the Guild on "John McClusky's
contribution to the fine arts of Fredericksburg".
John McClusky Biographical Sketch
John McClusky was born in Connecticut in 1914 and lived most of his
life near New Haven, Connecticut. He grew up on a farm, spending many
hours out of doors learning to love nature and all the benefits of country
living. As a young man, John McClusky attended the experimental Ohlms
School of Fine Art in New Haven, Connecticut, which was affiliated with
Yale University. This school used methods from the Renaissance period in
European history, involving all mediums. Here he learned the essential
tools and techniques an artist must have in order to paint.
Later, Mr. McClusky studied philosophy and commercial art at Colgate
University. He was married to "Clara" who bore him four daughters,
Linda, Gail, Jo Ann and Jeanette. His second wife, Lois Maconi of
Hamdon, Connecticut is still living. She and John had two children, John
and Kathleen "Katie". While still living in Connecticut, John studied to
become an ordained minister in the Church of God and served as a minister
in a church in Connecticut for seven years. He then began his full-time
career as a commercial artist, going into a business partnership with
another artist friend of his. He was involved with the New Haven Historical
Society helping to preserve its artistic heritage.
By the time Mr. McClusky was in his mid forties, he was a well estab-
lished artist. He belonged to the Hasty Pudding Club, an enduring
theatrical organization associated with Harvard University. Henry
Fonda bought one of his paintings. His work is still in the Markes
collection, the Forbes Magazine collection, the Vann collection, the
Koch collection, the Pioneer Memorial Library in Fredericksburg and
several museums in New England. His early work is very realistic, not of
the modernist style, but rather harkens back to the great painters of the
Renaissance. Andrew Wyeth is an example of a contemporary painter,
like McClusky, who values the discipline of the old masters.
His wife, Lois is a graduate of Byrn Mawr in Pennsylvania with a major
in anthropology. She is a licensed silversmith, whose work distinguishes
her apart from her accomplished husband. She plays the piano, the organ
and the recorder, among her many artistic talents. She presently lives in
Payson, Arizona with her daughter Katie and Katie's husband. Lois left
Fredericksburg in 2001 to move to Arizona.
John McClusky was a well established artist by the time he and his
family moved to Fredericksburg in August of 1970. The family traveled
over 4,700 before deciding where to live. At the time when the McCluskys
decided to move to Fredericksburg, Mr. McClusky contacted the Quad-
rangle Art Galleries in Dallas, Texas hoping to place some of his paintings
in the galleries there. The owner immediately accepted the entire body of his
work and became his representative and seller of his art.
Once he had his professional base established, Mr. McClusky decided to
invest his time, talent and energy in art education in Fredericksburg. He
noted that there were great many singing societies, bands, and performing
groups in Fredericksburg, but very little in the visual arts. He wanted to
change that…to establish an arts organization that would support artists
and their work, serving as an umbrella for all arts organizations,
performing, visual, and music related.
Mr. McClusky was attracted by the unique character and heritage of this
community, and he especially loved the architectural integrity of structures
built by the German settlers and their ancestors. He wanted to preserve those
unique buildings and landscapes in his paintings, so that there would be an
historical record.
The McCluskys purchased Minna Knopp's home and former beauty salon
at 214 West Centre Street and converted the beauty salon into his art studio,
living in the home and raising their two children. They became active
members of Bethany Lutheran Church and began to contribute to the com-
munity in many ways, not just the arts. However, his legacy is and will
remain his untiring commitment to teaching painting lessons.
He decided at the beginning not to charge for his services, but to ask his
students to provide their own painting materials and to be disciplined in
their approach to learning. He was a deeply introspective man, and he
believed he had the obligation to give of his time and talents to the
community where he choose to live. He was about facilitating art, not
marketing art or gaining a national reputation through selling art. He
came to Fredericksburg to paint and teach art. He asked that his students
be punctual, to learn from him and each other. Establishing a peer group
was an essential element of Mr. McClusky's efforts among budding artists
that flocked to his classes. There was a waiting list, but not a long one,
because only the serious students remained. He made it clear that it would
not be a social club. Men were encouraged to join. Students would
organize art sales on their own. In the beginning he taught art using one
of the city's buildings, but after two years he moved his art school to the
spaces above Dooley's Five and Dime Store.
The class schedule was Monday night from 7:00-11:00 pm and
Wednesdays and Fridays from 3:00 until about 5:00 pm. He would stay
at Dooley's on Friday for any students that needed one on one help.
He also told his students that they could stop by his studio at any time for
extra help or critiquing. He would plan "en plein aire" trips for his classes
to go out of doors to paint in Gillespie County. There were workshops,
special programs with art galleries in San Antonio, Ft. Worth and nearby
cities that John McClusky was asked to participate in.
Mr. McClusky recognized that each of his students were at a different
stage in his/her painting and he accommodated these differences. He would
go around to each student in class, sit down and begin talking about the
painting in question. Some of the students brought small tape recorders to
be sure they got the entirety of his comments. He could bring on a "light
bulb" moment of insight with the student and that was magic. Even the
student with no talent could begin to grow in their confidence and ability to
"create" something of value. He liked to have discussion forums about an
hour before quitting time on Monday nights. He would say things like…
"a lot of people like to paint, but they don't understand what they are
painting". Or when students would say to him…"If I can paint what I see
in my brain, I have a good painting". Not so!!! "One must exaggerate
what one sees and make it an emotional and intellectual experience."
John McClusky did not like to do painting demonstrations. "In a
demonstration an artist stands up before a group and paints something
he has painted a thousand times before! The student thinks, "so that is
how it's done. I'll never be able to do that!" In reality an artist who creates
a painting works at it, makes mistakes, many, many mistakes before he gets
it right. Why do you think that most artists won't even let people look at it
in the early stages?"
Around 1972, a number of Mr. McClusky's art students decided that they
had learned enough in two years and they were going to go out on their
own and produce great art. John did not think they were ready, but he
accepted their decision. Lois McClusky told a group of artists after John
died in 1994 that it hurt him deeply, but he pressed on with the remaining
students. "He put his whole heart and soul into his teaching". However,
everyone agreed that the first year he might as well have spoken in Chinese,
because he would muse about philosophical constructs, art history,
humanitarian causes that he thought his students needed to be aware of
and, of course, his deeply felt Christian beliefs that were the underpinning
of his approach to people and work.All through the 70's and 80's and
early 90's Mr. McClusky pressed on with his vision for the arts in
Fredericksburg. When he became ill with cancer, he still pressed on until
the disease finally took him down and he died in March 1994.
John McClusky used repetition often…"Opaque in the light!
Translucent in the shadows!!". Carolyn Henke said it is like hearing
them at HEB call out "Hot bread!! Hot bread!!"
Quotes from Carolyn Henke's notebooks, scrapbooks and recordings.
"The pinnacle of human achievement begins with the Arts", he said.
"Paintings must be gutsy, perhaps not always pretty, but reflect things as they
are, not as we would like them to be."
"I am a realist." he would say.
"If in five years I can find only one talented artist that I can assist, then it
will have been worthwhile."
"There is something unique here, the characteristics of this country, its
architecture and its people…this is the way of life that has to be preserved.
And I hope I do this
in my painting."
"There is no competition among real artists."
"I believe in painters moving into a community and giving it the
best they have got."
"Painting should be done as an expression of oneself and for the
enjoyment of others."
"Art should be a love affair with more than one painting; it is a way of life.
One should paint from the gut and heart and not be concerned with what sells."
"Isolation is dangerous. One of the reasons I started the Fredericksburg
Art Guild was for my own sake."
"I would like to see more retired people become part of the art guild. Their
background is filled with such wonderful experiences."
"I teach on the theory that anyone can paint. If not, it is because mistakes are
being made. Mistakes can be corrected if they are understood."
"Go up and study the planes of the model's head. Touch and understand what is happening,
get the feeling not just in your fingertips, but in your mind. Learn to
feel with your mind."
"In X-rays of the old masters there are shadows of where the artist changed
an arm, cut down the size of a head…they couldn't get it right the first time,
why should you?'
"Painting should be a relaxing, happy experience. If it is not then something
is wrong. Try to find out what it is."
"My teaching is not just limited to teaching painting, I am concerned with the
whole painting experience, the psychological hang ups, etc."
The pioneer Memorial Library sponsored a number of art shows, not only of
John McClusky's work but of the Fredericksburg Art Class, which later
became the Fredericksburg Art Guild.
John McClusky had a retrospective show in Shreveport, Louisiana at the R. W.
Norton Art Gallery, August 18 to September 29, 1974. One hundred and six works
were exhibited by Mr. McClusky. A sixty page catalog was published as a guide to
the show. The Fredericksburg Art Class chartered a Greyhound bus and went to
the retrospective art show in Shreveport. We have the catalog here.In 1974 John McClusky
presented a painting of "Old Main", the college's administrative center,
to the Texas Lutheran University as a gift. It remains as part of the University's collection
and is on view in the new administration building. Glasser Art Gallery
held a one man show for him November 18, 1973 featuring his
"Texas Landscapes, old barns, New England country sides and portraits in super-realistic acrylic polymer".
Researched, compiled and written by Sherryl Brown.
One of our members, Dorothy Stehling, was a charter member of the
Fredericksburg Art Guild.
She began taking art lessons from Mr. McClusky in his Fredericksburg
Art Classes in 1971. She recently brought in the article below written by
Sherryl Brown for her presentation to the Guild on "John McClusky's
contribution to the fine arts of Fredericksburg".
John McClusky Biographical Sketch
John McClusky was born in Connecticut in 1914 and lived most of his
life near New Haven, Connecticut. He grew up on a farm, spending many
hours out of doors learning to love nature and all the benefits of country
living. As a young man, John McClusky attended the experimental Ohlms
School of Fine Art in New Haven, Connecticut, which was affiliated with
Yale University. This school used methods from the Renaissance period in
European history, involving all mediums. Here he learned the essential
tools and techniques an artist must have in order to paint.
Later, Mr. McClusky studied philosophy and commercial art at Colgate
University. He was married to "Clara" who bore him four daughters,
Linda, Gail, Jo Ann and Jeanette. His second wife, Lois Maconi of
Hamdon, Connecticut is still living. She and John had two children, John
and Kathleen "Katie". While still living in Connecticut, John studied to
become an ordained minister in the Church of God and served as a minister
in a church in Connecticut for seven years. He then began his full-time
career as a commercial artist, going into a business partnership with
another artist friend of his. He was involved with the New Haven Historical
Society helping to preserve its artistic heritage.
By the time Mr. McClusky was in his mid forties, he was a well estab-
lished artist. He belonged to the Hasty Pudding Club, an enduring
theatrical organization associated with Harvard University. Henry
Fonda bought one of his paintings. His work is still in the Markes
collection, the Forbes Magazine collection, the Vann collection, the
Koch collection, the Pioneer Memorial Library in Fredericksburg and
several museums in New England. His early work is very realistic, not of
the modernist style, but rather harkens back to the great painters of the
Renaissance. Andrew Wyeth is an example of a contemporary painter,
like McClusky, who values the discipline of the old masters.
His wife, Lois is a graduate of Byrn Mawr in Pennsylvania with a major
in anthropology. She is a licensed silversmith, whose work distinguishes
her apart from her accomplished husband. She plays the piano, the organ
and the recorder, among her many artistic talents. She presently lives in
Payson, Arizona with her daughter Katie and Katie's husband. Lois left
Fredericksburg in 2001 to move to Arizona.
John McClusky was a well established artist by the time he and his
family moved to Fredericksburg in August of 1970. The family traveled
over 4,700 before deciding where to live. At the time when the McCluskys
decided to move to Fredericksburg, Mr. McClusky contacted the Quad-
rangle Art Galleries in Dallas, Texas hoping to place some of his paintings
in the galleries there. The owner immediately accepted the entire body of his
work and became his representative and seller of his art.
Once he had his professional base established, Mr. McClusky decided to
invest his time, talent and energy in art education in Fredericksburg. He
noted that there were great many singing societies, bands, and performing
groups in Fredericksburg, but very little in the visual arts. He wanted to
change that…to establish an arts organization that would support artists
and their work, serving as an umbrella for all arts organizations,
performing, visual, and music related.
Mr. McClusky was attracted by the unique character and heritage of this
community, and he especially loved the architectural integrity of structures
built by the German settlers and their ancestors. He wanted to preserve those
unique buildings and landscapes in his paintings, so that there would be an
historical record.
The McCluskys purchased Minna Knopp's home and former beauty salon
at 214 West Centre Street and converted the beauty salon into his art studio,
living in the home and raising their two children. They became active
members of Bethany Lutheran Church and began to contribute to the com-
munity in many ways, not just the arts. However, his legacy is and will
remain his untiring commitment to teaching painting lessons.
He decided at the beginning not to charge for his services, but to ask his
students to provide their own painting materials and to be disciplined in
their approach to learning. He was a deeply introspective man, and he
believed he had the obligation to give of his time and talents to the
community where he choose to live. He was about facilitating art, not
marketing art or gaining a national reputation through selling art. He
came to Fredericksburg to paint and teach art. He asked that his students
be punctual, to learn from him and each other. Establishing a peer group
was an essential element of Mr. McClusky's efforts among budding artists
that flocked to his classes. There was a waiting list, but not a long one,
because only the serious students remained. He made it clear that it would
not be a social club. Men were encouraged to join. Students would
organize art sales on their own. In the beginning he taught art using one
of the city's buildings, but after two years he moved his art school to the
spaces above Dooley's Five and Dime Store.
The class schedule was Monday night from 7:00-11:00 pm and
Wednesdays and Fridays from 3:00 until about 5:00 pm. He would stay
at Dooley's on Friday for any students that needed one on one help.
He also told his students that they could stop by his studio at any time for
extra help or critiquing. He would plan "en plein aire" trips for his classes
to go out of doors to paint in Gillespie County. There were workshops,
special programs with art galleries in San Antonio, Ft. Worth and nearby
cities that John McClusky was asked to participate in.
Mr. McClusky recognized that each of his students were at a different
stage in his/her painting and he accommodated these differences. He would
go around to each student in class, sit down and begin talking about the
painting in question. Some of the students brought small tape recorders to
be sure they got the entirety of his comments. He could bring on a "light
bulb" moment of insight with the student and that was magic. Even the
student with no talent could begin to grow in their confidence and ability to
"create" something of value. He liked to have discussion forums about an
hour before quitting time on Monday nights. He would say things like…
"a lot of people like to paint, but they don't understand what they are
painting". Or when students would say to him…"If I can paint what I see
in my brain, I have a good painting". Not so!!! "One must exaggerate
what one sees and make it an emotional and intellectual experience."
John McClusky did not like to do painting demonstrations. "In a
demonstration an artist stands up before a group and paints something
he has painted a thousand times before! The student thinks, "so that is
how it's done. I'll never be able to do that!" In reality an artist who creates
a painting works at it, makes mistakes, many, many mistakes before he gets
it right. Why do you think that most artists won't even let people look at it
in the early stages?"
Around 1972, a number of Mr. McClusky's art students decided that they
had learned enough in two years and they were going to go out on their
own and produce great art. John did not think they were ready, but he
accepted their decision. Lois McClusky told a group of artists after John
died in 1994 that it hurt him deeply, but he pressed on with the remaining
students. "He put his whole heart and soul into his teaching". However,
everyone agreed that the first year he might as well have spoken in Chinese,
because he would muse about philosophical constructs, art history,
humanitarian causes that he thought his students needed to be aware of
and, of course, his deeply felt Christian beliefs that were the underpinning
of his approach to people and work.All through the 70's and 80's and
early 90's Mr. McClusky pressed on with his vision for the arts in
Fredericksburg. When he became ill with cancer, he still pressed on until
the disease finally took him down and he died in March 1994.
John McClusky used repetition often…"Opaque in the light!
Translucent in the shadows!!". Carolyn Henke said it is like hearing
them at HEB call out "Hot bread!! Hot bread!!"
Quotes from Carolyn Henke's notebooks, scrapbooks and recordings.
"The pinnacle of human achievement begins with the Arts", he said.
"Paintings must be gutsy, perhaps not always pretty, but reflect things as they
are, not as we would like them to be."
"I am a realist." he would say.
"If in five years I can find only one talented artist that I can assist, then it
will have been worthwhile."
"There is something unique here, the characteristics of this country, its
architecture and its people…this is the way of life that has to be preserved.
And I hope I do this
in my painting."
"There is no competition among real artists."
"I believe in painters moving into a community and giving it the
best they have got."
"Painting should be done as an expression of oneself and for the
enjoyment of others."
"Art should be a love affair with more than one painting; it is a way of life.
One should paint from the gut and heart and not be concerned with what sells."
"Isolation is dangerous. One of the reasons I started the Fredericksburg
Art Guild was for my own sake."
"I would like to see more retired people become part of the art guild. Their
background is filled with such wonderful experiences."
"I teach on the theory that anyone can paint. If not, it is because mistakes are
being made. Mistakes can be corrected if they are understood."
"Go up and study the planes of the model's head. Touch and understand what is happening,
get the feeling not just in your fingertips, but in your mind. Learn to
feel with your mind."
"In X-rays of the old masters there are shadows of where the artist changed
an arm, cut down the size of a head…they couldn't get it right the first time,
why should you?'
"Painting should be a relaxing, happy experience. If it is not then something
is wrong. Try to find out what it is."
"My teaching is not just limited to teaching painting, I am concerned with the
whole painting experience, the psychological hang ups, etc."
The pioneer Memorial Library sponsored a number of art shows, not only of
John McClusky's work but of the Fredericksburg Art Class, which later
became the Fredericksburg Art Guild.
John McClusky had a retrospective show in Shreveport, Louisiana at the R. W.
Norton Art Gallery, August 18 to September 29, 1974. One hundred and six works
were exhibited by Mr. McClusky. A sixty page catalog was published as a guide to
the show. The Fredericksburg Art Class chartered a Greyhound bus and went to
the retrospective art show in Shreveport. We have the catalog here.In 1974 John McClusky
presented a painting of "Old Main", the college's administrative center,
to the Texas Lutheran University as a gift. It remains as part of the University's collection
and is on view in the new administration building. Glasser Art Gallery
held a one man show for him November 18, 1973 featuring his
"Texas Landscapes, old barns, New England country sides and portraits in super-realistic acrylic polymer".
Researched, compiled and written by Sherryl Brown.
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