Vearl Wright
Vearl Wright (October 30, 1903—June 2, 1988) was a man with many hobbies. One of these in particular made him famous in his later years. As a young man, Wright and his wife, Lola, were avid hiking and birdwatching fans. During these hikes, Wright would take photographs of the beautiful mountains they encountered together. Later, the artist would become very successful painting from these photographs. The prints themselves received recognition from the Columbus Museum of Art, where exhibitions were held for his photographs.
After the death of his wife in 1976, Wright took up painting as a distraction. The themes varied, but were mostly country landscapes. He never put his work up for sale, but auctioned them through the Licking County Art Association, at which he was very active in exhibitions. One of his paintings was sold for $2650. He also showed his work at the Zanesville Art Center. At one point, Wright estimated that he took between 300-700 hours on each painting. [1]
Wright’s other hobbies included whittling and playing the piano.[2] The artist retired in 1969 from his job as an engineer with Holophane. Wright had two children, James and Judy.[3]
S.H.
