Vernon Herbert Coleman
{{short description|American painter}}
{{Infobox artist
| name = Vernon H. Coleman
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Vernon Herbert Coleman
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1898|4|28}}
| birth_place = Norwalk, Connecticut, US
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1978|6|6|1898|4|28}}
| death_place =
| movement = Social Realism
| awards =
| patrons =
| imagesize =
| field = Painting
| training = Corcoran School of Art
| works =
| influenced by =
| influenced =
}}
Vernon Herbert Coleman (April 28, 1898 – June 6, 1978) was a marine seascape muralist artist and art teacher on Cape Cod.{{cite web | title=Cape Cod 2006 Memories and Seascape Artist Vernon H. Coleman | website=Embracing Life's Adventures | date=2011-07-27 | url=http://jenblogpage.blogspot.com/2011/07/cape-cod-2006-memories-and-seascape.html | access-date=2018-09-26}}{{cite web |title=New Deal/W.P.A. Artist Biographies - C |url=http://www.wpamurals.com/wpabios.htm#C |website=WPA Murals |accessdate=26 September 2018}} He painted more than 100 murals for the Works Progress Administration.{{cite web | last=Chahey | first=Ellen | title=Son shares stories of Cape Cod's great muralist | website=Barnstable Patriot | date=2008-11-28 | url=http://www.barnstablepatriot.com/article/20081128/NEWS/311289958 | access-date=2018-09-26}}
Early years
Coleman was born in Norwich, Connecticut and studied at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C.{{cite web | title=Seascapes, Ships & Scenery By Vernon H Coleman | website=Antiques & The Arts Weekly | date=2008-10-14 | url=https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/seascapes-ships-scenery-by-vernon-h-coleman/ | access-date=2018-09-26}} He founded the Cape Cod Art Club (now the Cape Cod Art Association) in Dennis, Massachusetts which gives an annual award, the Vernon Coleman Memorial Award, in his name.{{cite web | title=Art Alumni Updates - Art & Art History | website=Art & Art History | date=2017-05-06 | url=https://www.smcm.edu/art/alumni/art-alumni-updates/ | access-date=2018-09-26}} He was the supervisor of art in the Barnstable Public School system for 20 years, retiring in 1964.{{cite journal |last1=Stetson |first1=Deb Boucher |title=Cape Cod Art Association celebrates its past & looks forward to its future as the Cape Cod Art Center |journal=Cape Cod Life |date=July 2018 |page=102 |url=http://endquotewritingandediting.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/CCAC-CapeCod-ART-18.pdf |accessdate=26 September 2018}}
Artistic works
Coleman was "a central figure in WPA programs in Barnstable", getting paid $17 a week for his work.{{cite web | last=Beedenbender | first=Britt | title=If these walls could speak -- and they do | website=Barnstable Patriot | date=2006-03-17 | url=http://www.barnstablepatriot.com/article/20060317/news/303179932 | access-date=2018-09-26}} He was enrolled in the Provincetown Artists group of the Federal Art Project where his style was described as "traditional realism."{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Whitney E. |title=e Federal Art Project in Provincetown, Massachusetts: The impact of a relief program on an established art colony |journal=University of New Hampshire Master's Theses and Capstones. |date=Spring 2009 |volume=113 |url=https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1112&context=thesis |pages=50, 56–57 |accessdate=26 September 2018}} He was in demand as a WPA artist with one local sponsor stating that he was "very much of a boy scout in his feelings that Vernon Coleman must do these [murals]... they won't have anyone but Coleman do them."
Many of Coleman's WPA paintings depicted scenes and seascapes from 1920s and 1930s Cape Cod and are inside local public buildings such as the Barnstable Town Hall, Pope John Paul II High School, the Center for Creative Arts, the Centerville Recreation Building, and the Osterville Historical Society Boat House. Some of his mural work was painted directly on to plaster making it difficult to relocate.{{cite web | last=Spillane | first=Geoff | title=Historic murals uncovered during Main Street restaurant redo | website=capecodtimes.com | date=2016-04-21 | url=http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20160421/NEWS/160429900 | access-date=2018-09-26}} Seven mural paintings found behind "seven layers of wall" at a restaurant undergoing renovation became the subject of a restoration effort.{{cite web | last=Kolnos | first=Jason | title=Painter's family views murals before they're gone for good | website=capecodtimes.com | date=2016-04-22 | url=http://www.capecodtimes.com/news/20160422/painters-family-views-murals-before-theyre-gone-for-good | access-date=2018-09-26}}{{cite web | last=Ritt | first=Glenn | title=Welcoming Historical Murals to Osterville | website=Cape Cod Museum Trail | date=2017-06-24 | url=http://capecodmuseumtrail.com/welcoming-historical-murals-osterville/ | access-date=2018-09-26}}{{cite web | title=Historic Murals Formally Unveiled at Hyannis Main St. Restaurant | website=CapeCod.com | date=2016-11-10 | url=https://www.capecod.com/newscenter/historic-murals-formally-unveiled-at-hyannis-main-st-restaurant/ | access-date=2018-09-26}} Four murals were stabilized and remained at the restaurant and three were donated to the Osterville Historical Museum for restoration.{{cite web | title=Vernon Coleman: The Lost Murals | website=Cape Cod LIFE | date=2017-06-29 | url=https://capecodlife.com/event/vernon-coleman-lost-murals/2017-06-29/ | access-date=2018-09-26}}{{cite web | last=Saunders | first=Justin | title=Historic Paintings Uncovered at Hyannis Restaurant Construction Site | website=CapeCod.com | date=2016-04-24 | url=https://www.capecod.com/newscenter/historic-paintings-uncovered-at-hyannis-restaurant-construction-site/ | access-date=2018-09-26}} Another mural in the former Barnstable High School building, was the subject of a $20,000 renovation.
In addition to his mural work Coleman also created many oil paintings, some of which are collected in the Cape Cod Museum of Art.{{cite web | title=Standing Tall: Lighthouses in Cape and Islands Art | website=Traditional Fine Arts Organization | date=2013-09-08 | url=http://tfaoi.com/aa/10aa/10aa237.htm | access-date=2018-09-26}}
Personal life
Coleman was married to Ruby Coleman and had one child, Vernon Ellsworth Coleman, in 1926.{{cite web | title=Vernon Ellsworth Coleman Obituary - Hyannis, MA | website=Dignity Memorial | date=2012-03-26 | url=https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/hyannis-ma/vernon-coleman-5039439 | access-date=2018-09-26}}
References
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Category:20th-century American painters
Category:American marine artists
Category:Painters from Massachusetts