Born to Paint: Two Brothers, Two Paths

Embarking on Their Careers: The Brothers' Art Schools

A note to family members: Please write with additions and corrections. Thank you!

Wylie Warren Curry was born in 1889, and Noble Wilbur Curry in 1894. I know little of their childhoods other than they were born in Delta, Ohio (Wylie) and Findlay, Ohio (Noble), and both later attended respected art colleges. Wylie enrolled at the Cleveland School of Art, founded in 1882. The Cleveland School of Art was renamed the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1948.

Evidently Wylie participated in theatrical activities at art school. This is the only photo I have of him from those years. Student artwork (presumably) is behind the thespians.

Noble was granted a scholarship to attend the Columbus Art School, founded in 1879, one of the oldest operating art schools in the nation. Noble attended here following his service in the Army. The college was later renamed the Columbus College of Art and Design. 

 Noble also studied at The Art Students League® of New York, where atelier classes still offer artists advanced training. More on his work at this institution can be found in a later post.

On the right is a detail of a self-portrait (an etching) by Noble, completed in the 1920's.

  The education of artists in the early 20th century would have been demanding. Students were expected to study anatomy of both the human being and animals of all kinds. As will be evident as I post more artwork by both brothers, Wylie and Noble both had excellent drawing skills. Those were considered essential at that time, so rigorous curricula in drawing and drafting were required.

Wylie's Tierformen Atlas* was a pictorial anatomy textbook for artists that he kept from his art school days. (Scroll down to see the images.) In 1977, my father had the book rebound before giving it to me. Published in 1899 in Dresden, Germany, the book is filled with highly detailed and notated lithographed images. I have looked through the book to find any marks that my grandfather would have made, and on the page with the human skeleton, he has marked proportional numbers to the right of the skeleton. On the same page is the mark where a drop of coffee must have landed. Other than these marks, the book is immaculate. The cover shows the signs of many years of use, however. (Click on images to enlarge.) Early in the careers of both men, correct rendering was important in their work. As they worked as artists after college, Noble's direction gradually went toward abstract painting and printmaking. Wylie's never did, even in his expressive personal artwork. In my next post, I'll contrast the work the two brothers were doing, and the very different lives they were living, during the years 1918 and 1919.

*From Wikipedia's translation: Schaefer, Maximilian: Comparative studies on the anatomy of humans and animals for artists, artisans and amateurs. Animal forms text and atlas. 2 Bde. Dresden, Kühtmann, (1899). 2 vols Dresden, Kühtmann, (1899). (The book is written entirely in German.)

Born to Paint: Two Brothers, Two Paths

Dear Readers,

In 2005, while working with my father to create a family tree and an album of photographs and written memories of his early life, I learned that my grandfather, a lifelong artist, had a brother who had also been a lifelong artist. Sadly, I never met my great uncle. This site is dedicated to recording and sharing the results of my research and explorations into the two men's lives and their work. In my view, together they represent a broad sweep of 20th century art practices and philosophies which is historically significant. My research and reporting is complete until I happen to source more information or learn of paintings being recovered by someone who reads this blog. If you find an artwork by either WW Curry or Noble Curry, please contact me. Thank you! Below is the first installment. Following this, the posts are ordered as most-recent to oldest. Please scroll to the bottom for reading in chronological order.

From the left: Noble Wilbur Curry, Jean Curry (Wylie's daughter), and Wylie Warren Curry ca.1917, Columbus, Ohio

My grandfather, Wylie Warren Curry, was an earnest, loveable man with a quirky sense of humor. Of few words, he did not particularly encourage me to talk or ask questions when we were together, but I asked them anyway. He did not offer up any additional information beyond that which would satisfy my curiosity for the moment. As an inquisitive child, I remember asking him about his work. He was an artist all his life, and of this I was fully aware and deeply proud. In many ways, he was a rôle model even though in my entire life I may have visited him only 8 or 9 times in his home town of Lakewood, Ohio. Once, he and my grandmother came to Seattle on the train to see us. A daily walk-taker, Grandpa let me trot alongside him each day during that visit as he quietly strode a curvy road on which I wasn't normally allowed to walk.

I never consciously knew that Grandpa had a brother. Only as a dusty recollection did I ever hear mention of my great-uncle Noble. And only a few years ago did I learn that Noble Wilbur Curry lived but a few miles from where my grandparents lived, and only right before my father's death in 2007 did I learn from Dad that uncle Noble was also a lifelong artist. Furthermore, he was considered a significant American painter of the early 20th century.

It is a current project of mine to research the work of my uncle Noble, and to attempt to profile these two men as dedicated artists who represented quite contrasting aspects of the artistic world of their era. They were at odds with each other for most of their lives. The photo above is one of two that I know of that shows them together. This was taken in Columbus, Ohio. The child in the center, my aunt Jean, would later become the subject of Wylie's finest oil portrait. That portrait hangs in my living room, bequeathed to me by my father.

My heartfelt thanks go to Georgeanne Curry Frawley and Mary Curry Shirley, Noble's daughters, for their generous help with this project. I'm so happy to have connected with them and their families!