Clymer, John, 1907-1989

Commonly recognized for recording western history and wildlife in his art, John Ford Clymer was born in Ellensburg, Washington in 1907. From a very early age he was interested in art. Following high school, Clymer moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he worked as an illustrator and attended art school. In 1930, John Clymer attended the Wilmington Academy in Delaware, where he was highly inspired by the illustrator and western artist, N.C. Wyeth. In 1932, Clymer married his wife Doris and moved to Westport, Connecticut to join the artist gathering there.

During World War II, John Clymer and illustrator Tom Lovell joined the Marines. They were stationed in Washington State and spent their time painting war illustrations. After the war Clymer then decided to create historic paintings, and he and his wife, Doris, researched and traveled the northwest in order to accurately depict the West in his paintings. In 1966, John Clymer and his wife Doris settled down in the quiet western town of Jackson Hole, Wyoming to further his affection for painting local western people and regional wildlife.

John Clymer received many honors, including the National Academy of Western Art's Prix de West Award and the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s Rungius Medal. His hometown of Ellensburg, Washington established the Clymer Museum. John Clymer's family generously donated the contents of his studio to the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.