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THOMAS ARNOLD McGLYNN Biography |
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Thomas McGlynn was born in San Francisco, California on March 29, 1878. As a youth McGlynn was active with the Columbia Park Boys Club, a precursor of Boy Scouts that focused on training youths in various manual crafts. In 1894 McGlynn served as editor for their first magazine, adorning its pages with art nouveau style wood block prints. At age thirteen he was trapped beneath a lumber pile, which crushed his back and limited him to crutches and canes for most of his life. He never let this interfere with his career as an artist.
In 1899, he began his studies at the California School of Design with a full scholarship. Here he formed a lasting relationship with the director Arthur Mathews and also met his wife, Gertrude Gorter. As the newly wed couple were preparing for graduation, the 1906 earthquake hit. The California School of Design was destroyed and many artists were leaving the city in exodus. McGlynn stayed and helped Arthur Mathews run his furniture shop. McGlynn installed murals, supervised craftsmen and came up with numerous original furniture designs. In 1918 he left the shop to teach. He taught for 27 years in the San Francisco school system and for a short time at University of California Berkeley. He frequently traveled to the Monterey peninsula claiming it was his favorite place to paint due to the unique quality of light. In 1934 he requested membership into the Carmel Art Association and received a swift reply from the president, Armin Hansen, notifying him that he was unanimously elected in less than 20 seconds. In 1938 he established permanent residence in Pebble Beach until his death on June 21, 1966. While on the peninsula he contributed to many organizations and served as The Carmel Art Association’s president twice. McGlynn painted luminist landscapes of the Pacific coast from Canada to Mexico. Member: Carmel Art Association (pres., 1951-52); San Francisco Art Association; Bay Region Art Association; Society of Western Artist; American Artists Professional League; American Federation of Arts; Society for Sanity in Art; Santa Cruz Art League. Exhibited: Los Angeles Liberty Fair, 1918 (award); California State Fair, 1924, 1939-40; San Francisco Art Association Annuals; Santa Cruz Art League, 1929-57 (awards); Monterey County Fair, 1931-40; Carmel Art Association, 1934, 1949 (solo); 1962 (solo) 1966 (solo); Oakland Art Gallery, 1936-49 Society for Sanity in Art, 1938-46; Golden Gate International; Exposition, 1939-40; Santa Cruz County Fair, 1940; 1955 (1st prizes); American Artists Professional League, 1941-46; Art in National Defense, 1943 (award); California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 1945; Society of Western Artists, 1948-60; Carmel Museum, 1969; Triton Museum (Santa Clara), 1970 (solo); Monterey Peninsula Museum, 1979 (solo); San Mateo County Historical Society, 1982; Ventura County Historical Museum, 1984, 1985. In: Monterey Peninsula Museum; Monterey Community Hospital; Oakland Museum. |
