Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1942-12-24
HOWARD CHANDLER CHRISTY
FEATURED In COLUMBUS
PAPER

Last Sundays Columbus Dispatch
carried full page special article
prepared by G. c. Stebbins, under
the caption of Howard Chandler
Christy.' In connection with the
article are pictures of the world
famed artist; the log cabin birth
place, which is on the former Whip
pie farm, later owned by Charles
Beard, and now belongs to James
Hum and Atty Emmett Abel. There
is picture of Mr.. Christy at the
age of three, when he began to draw
his first pictures; number of patri-
otic posters designed by Mr.. Chris
ty, and the most prominence is
given of the painting ''The. Sign
ing of the Constitution" which is
termed Mr.. Christy's most am
bilious work. 1t hangs in the cap
itol at Washington, and is the
largest in America. The size is
2Ox3O feet.
OF the picture Senator Alben w.
Barkley termed it as Immortal and
Inspirational.' Congress allotted
$4,000 for the work. Besides the
Constitution picture, four of Chris
TVS pictures now hang in the ma
tion's capitol-more than by any
other single artist.
At the age of 70 he enjoys the
best of health and is working hard
er than ever with his paint and
brush. He was the son of Francis
M. and Mary Matilda Chandler
Christy. When he was three years
old the family moved to Muskingum
county, and he spent his boyhood
days near Duncan Falls, and since
his first picture he has been max
ing them ever since. He started by
drawing all. kinds of animals-many
of his subjects he had never seen.
1t is said that he would lie on the
floor by the hour with pencil in
he states he was constantly in trou-
BILE with his teachers, because he
gave such little concern with his
studies, putting in most of his
time sketching on his slate His
teachers tried to break him of using
his left hand, but could not and
he still applies paint to the canvas
with a brush in his left hand.
According to the Dispatch, Mr..
Christy was 10 years of age when
he sold his first picture. It was
when Ed Mcclellan, a Duncan Falls
butcher, commissioned" him to
paint the picture of bull for his
butcher shop sign. When 13 he
sketched the old log school house
in southern Muskingum county,
near the Morgan county line, where
James A. Garfield first taught. The |
Toledo Blade reproduced the picture
and offered him position on the |
staff of the paper as an artist, but |
he declined. At the age of 16 years |
he went to New York to seek his
fortune as an artist. He failed, but
did not give up. He. returned to
Ohio, and when 19 went back to !
New York, and remained until his |
reputation as an artist had spread |
throughout the world. In the year |
1908 he came back to Duncan Falls
and built the Barracks" remaining |
there for 10 years, and then return
ed to New York City. He studied !
a year and half under w. NJ. |
Chase, an outstanding artist. When |
FL years of age Mr.. Christy became
an art instructor of note, but soon |
gave up teaching to become an out !
standing artist in his own right.
1t wasn't long before that dream |
was realized. He won equal fame !
as an illustrator, portrait painter
and landscape artist. There was
a time, in the early part of this /
century, when he devoted much |
time and talent to the lucrative |
business of magazine illustrations.
Sketches by Christy appeared in al
most all of the leading magazines Of !
the country.
Then suddenly he decided to
make an important change in the
course of his career. From maga-
zine illustrations he turned to the
more serious business of portrait
painting while devoting much of his
time to the portrayal of other sub
jects which suited his fancy. This
is the way he paints today, and he
is perfectly happy.
He is up at 8 o'clock each morn