Clum takes best in show at Steubenville Art Association exhibit
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STEUBENVILLE -- James Clum enjoys telling stories with brushes, oil paints and a canvas.
His style, the Steubenville resident said, is historical realism.
On Thursday night, his work, “Wyatt Earp and John Clum,” was named best in show when the Steubenville Art Association opened its 77th annual art show at Youngstown State University-Steubenville.
Clum’s inspiration for the piece came from a photograph taken in Alaska in 1898 that showed Earp, the famous American lawman, and John Clum, a relative of Clum’s. The two, he said, had become friends while living in the West.
“John Clum was a kind of a character from New York who went out west with the Dutch Reformed Church that was telling guys they would send them out west to help with the Indian Wars,” said James Clum, who moved from Los Angeles to the area about six years ago.
A graduate of Rutgers, John Clum became an officer and was given command of the San Carlos Apache Reservation, James Clum said while discussing his relative.
“He was liked by the Apaches because he was fair and treated them well,” Clum continued. “He ended up resigning his position because the government was messing with them and was not fair with them.”
John Clum eventually moved to Tombstone, Ariz., after nickel was discovered in the area. He served as the undertaker, was elected mayor and started a newspaper called The Tombstone Epitaph.
That’s where he and Earp met and became friends.
They eventually headed to Alaska during the gold rush, where Clum operated a post office.
By the 1920s, they found themselves reunited in Los Angeles amid the next major boom -- the growth of movies.
“You know, they are both very understated, and they look like two people with very different personalities and like friends who are just getting together. That’s what I like,” James Clum said.
“All of my pieces are based off of something that’s happened in the past, something with a story, and geometric abstraction,” he continued. “The historical periods I am dealing with are in the early 20th century, because it is how people and the old world were adapting to modern times and the beginning of modernism.”
The jurors for the competition, Bill Koch and Greg Siegwart, said they easily agreed that Clum’s work was the best of the roughly 150 entries.
Judy Schmidt, president of the art association, said the organization was happy to return to its familiar location, adding that the staff at YSU-Steubenville helped make everything work smoothly.
The organization, she said, was formed 80 years ago and now consists of about 50 members. In October, it will begin hosting workshops on the third Saturday of each month, she added, with other events planned throughout the year.
Numerous participants received recognition during the awards ceremony. Kailynn McNally received the Youngstown State University-Steubenville and people’s choice awards.
Patrons include the Ohio Valley Health Center, Mosti Funeral Home, Hauser Furniture, Studio L, D’Anniballe and Co., Schuetz Funeral Home and Tri-State Financial Services. Donors include Create and Craft, Barium and Chemicals, Patricia Westfall, Signs Ltd., Von and Susan Kurty, John and Roxanne Matysiak, Minor Insurance and Shorac Funeral Home.