Henry Varnum Poor Kansas (1887-1970) Self Portrait, 1962 conte crayon on paper Signed and dated (1962) in graphite Lower Left. Biography from the Archives of askART: Born in Chapman, Kansas on Sept. 30, 1888, Poor graduated from Stanford University in 1910 and then traveled to London where he was a pupil of Walter Sickert at the Slade School. In Paris he studied with Lucien Simon and Laurens at Académie Julian. Returning to California, he taught at Stanford and the California School of Fine Art during 1916-19. He made his final move to NYC in 1921 where he was successful as a potter as well as a painter. He died in New City, NY in November 1970. His oils include landscapes, portraits, and figure studies. Member: National Academician (1963); San Francisco Art Association; California Art Club; National Institute of Arts and Letters Exhibitions: Del Monte Art Gallery (Monterey), 1912; Pan-Pacific International Exhibition, 1915; San Francisco Art Association, 1916-19; Art Institute of Chicago, 1932 (medal); Carnegie Inst., 1933 (3rd prize). In: Fresno, California Post Office (ceramic tile); Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Metropolitan Museum; Art Institute of Chicago; San FRancisco Museum of Art; Worcester Museum; Radio City Music Hall, New York City; Dept. of Justice, Interior Dept., Washington, DC (fresco); Dallas Museum; Whitney Museum. Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940" Varnum Poor by Peyton Boswell; Artists of the American West (Samuels); Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs, et Graveurs (Bénézit, E); Art in California (R. L. Bernier, 1916); American Art Annual 1919-33; Who's Who in American Art 1936-70; NY Times, 12-9-1970 (obituary). Nearly 20,000 biographies can be found in Artists in California 1786-1940 by Edan Hughes and is available for sale ($150). For a full book description and order information please click here. 11 1/2" x 8 1/4", 20 1/4" x 17" (frame) Henry Varnum Poor (September 30, 1887 – December 8, 1970) was an American architect, painter, sculptor, muralist, and potter. He was a grandnephew of the Henry Varnum Poor who was a founder of the predecessor firm to Standard & Poor's. He was born in Chapman, Kansas on September 30, 1887,[1] to parents Alfred James Poor and Josephine Melinda Graham. Poor attended Stanford University, where he graduated with a A.B. degree in 1910. He studied painting at the Slade School in London and under painter Walter Sickert, then attended the Académie Julian in Paris. He returned to the United States in 1911 and taught art at Stanford University before moving to San Francisco to teach at the San Francisco Art Association. From July 1919 to October 1923 Poor was married to a former student from Stanford (and a later known textile designer), Marion Dorn. Following military service in World War I, he settled in Rockland County, New York, and focused on ceramics. In 1925 he married journalist and writer Bessie Breuer. In the late 1920s, Poor gained recognition as a painter and eventually turned to murals; he was commissioned to paint twelve murals in the U.S. Department of Justice and the mural Conservation of American Wild Life in the Department of the Interior during the 1930s. During World War II he was head of the War Art Unit of the Corps of Engineers. He served on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts from 1944 to 1945. In 1946 Poor was one of the founders of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and taught at Columbia University. Poor was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was a resident fellow in visual arts at the American Academy in Rome from 1950 to 1951. Self-taught as an architect, Poor designed the "Crow House" on South Mountain Road in New City, New York for himself, and designed houses or home renovations for Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, John Houseman, Burgess Meredith and Maxwell Anderson. He was also a potter, with ceramics in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and ceramics designed for Radio City Music Hall. He also has works in the collections of the Whitney Museum and the Phillips Collection. Poor's papers are in the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian. He died on December 8, 1970 in New City, New York. Poor's pupils included the painter and printmaker Bertha Landers.