Clay Spohn

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Clay Spohn
Born
Clay Edgar Spohn

November 24, 1898
San Francisco, California, U.S.
DiedDecember 19, 1977(1977-12-19) (aged 79)
New York City, New York, U.S.
EducationCalifornia College of Arts and Crafts, University of California, Berkeley,California School of Fine Arts, Art Students League of New York, Académie Moderne
Occupation(s)Painter, muralist, printmaker, sculptor, designer, educator
MovementSurrealism, fantasy art, abstract art

Clay Edgar Spohn (November 24, 1898 – December 19, 1977)[1] was an American painter, muralist, printmaker, sculptor, designer, and educator. He taught at the California School of Fine Arts (now San Francisco Art Institute), and School of Visual Arts in New York City. Spohn's art has been described as "whimsical, abstract and satirical".[2] He was a member of the collective American Abstract Artists.[3]

Early life and education

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Clay Edgar Spohn was born on November 24, 1898, in San Francisco, California.[4][5] He was raised in Berkeley, California, and graduated from Berkeley High School.

He attended the California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts) from 1911 to 1912; the University of California, Berkeley from 1919 to 1921, under Perham Nahl; the California School of Fine Arts (now San Francisco Art Institute); the Art Students League of New York from 1922 to 1925, under Kenneth Hayes Miller, Boardman Robinson, George Luks and Guy DuBois; and the Académie Moderne in Paris from 1926 to 1927, under Fernand Léger and Othon Friesz.[6][4][7]

At the Art Students League of New York, Spohn befriended sculptor Alexander Calder, who had an art studio near his classes while he was in Paris.[7]

Career

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Fiesta Procession in Old California (1938) mural by Clay Spohn, in the post office in Montebello, California, now destroyed
Fiesta Procession in Old California (1938) mural by Clay Spohn, in the post office in Montebello, California, now destroyed

Spohn returned to San Francisco Bay Area in 1927.[5] He was employed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1935 to 1942, where he created copper bas relief murals, painted murals, paintings, and lithographs.[7] He created a mural Fiesta Procession in Old California (1938) for the post office in Montebello, California (now destroyed), and a mural (1939) at Los Gatos Union High School (now Los Gatos High School) in Los Gatos, California.[5][8]

In early 1942, Spohn created a body of work he called "Guerro-Graphs" consisting of gouache paintings of abstracted war machines.[2] The San Francisco Museum of Art mounted Spohn's solo exhibition of this work titled, Fantastic War Machines and Guerragraphs (1942).[9]

From 1945 to 1950, Spohn taught at the California School of Fine Arts (now San Francisco Art Institute),[7] under the directorship of Douglas MacAgy. In 1941, he designed the decor for the first San Francisco Arts Festival.[1]

Spohn moved to Taos, New Mexico from 1952 until 1958,[7] and associated himself with the Taos art colony. In 1958, he worked as a lecturer at Mount Holyoke College, in Massachusetts.[5] He taught at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City from 1964 to 1969.[7]

In 1974, the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) held retrospective exhibition for Spohn, curated by Terry St. John.[1][2]

Spohn died on December 19, 1977, in New York City.[1]

Collections

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His work is included in museum collections, including at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City;[10] the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.;[11] Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California;[12] San Francisco Museum of Modern Art;[13] the Oakland Museum of California;[14] the Harwood Museum of Art in Taos;[15] and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.[16]

Exhibitions

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Solo exhibitions

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Group exhibitions

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Artist Spohn dies". Berkeley Gazette (Obituary). December 22, 1977. p. 26. Retrieved July 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c d "Spohn's art at museum". The Independent (Richmond, California). May 18, 1974. p. 34. Retrieved July 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Past Members". americanabstractartists.org. Archived from the original on March 20, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Hughes, Edan Milton (2002). Artists in California, 1786-1940: L-Z. Crocker Art Museum. p. 1049. ISBN 978-1-884038-08-2.
  5. ^ a b c d "Clay Spohn papers, circa 1862–1985, Biographical Note". Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
  6. ^ Who's Who in American Art. R. R. Bowker LLC. 1976. p. 535. ISBN 978-0-8352-0850-5.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Clay Edgar Spohn, American, 1898–1977". The Annex Galleries.
  8. ^ "Local Indian Legend Subject of Mural Just Erected at Los Gatos High School". Los Gatos Times-Saratoga Observer. February 14, 1941. p. 10. Retrieved July 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b "Fantastic War Machines To Go on Display". Oakland Tribune. March 8, 1942. p. 44. Retrieved July 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Clay Spohn". The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  11. ^ "Clay Edgar Spohn". National Gallery of Art (NGA). Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  12. ^ "Red, Green, and Violet by Clay Spohn". Crocker Art Museum. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  13. ^ "Spohn, Clay". SFMOMA. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  14. ^ "Object number: A83.47.167". OMCA Collection. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  15. ^ "Clay Spohn". Harwood Museum of Art. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  16. ^ The Four Stages of Life: Clay Edgar Spohn (American, San Francisco, California 1898–1977 New York), Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1935–43, retrieved July 29, 2025
  17. ^ "Record Shop Brings Show From 'The Ruins' of Taos". Albuquerque Journal. July 12, 1953. p. 13. Retrieved July 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Dalkey, Victoria (March 12, 1995). "California through surrealism's eyes". The Sacramento Bee. p. 156, 157. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
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