2026 Coeur d’Alene Art Auction2 / 24 • View Catalog •
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VERSO
Artist label signature, title, and date
Label, Trailside Galleries, Scottsdale, Arizona
Art historian Walt Reed highlighted Clymer’s dedication to making his paintings ring true, noting, “One of the greatest painting experiences for John was the trip he made to Alaska with artist friend Bob Lougheed and John’s son, David, in 1954. Game animals had often been the central subject in many of John’s paintings, but for years the models he found were in the National Parks or in zoos. He knew that the differences in attitudes and habits between confined animals and those in the wild were markedly different, and he wanted to observe and paint them in their natural habitat. One of the best places in North America to find big game animals was in Alaska.”
Recalling time spent in Alaska, the artist wrote, “We were patrolling the Denali road looking for wildlife and found our first grizzlies when we came to the Toklat area of the park. A female and two cubs were among a bunch of berry bushes in a valley below the road. They foraged there for the next two days, far enough away for us not to bother them, and we could follow them along, park our car and paint. The female knew we were there all right, and she’d keep looking up at us once in a while, but otherwise they went about their business. It was an excellent opportunity for us to sit and watch their behavior, how they walked and moved around. This particular bear had a black face, black ears and the front feet and shoulders were a very dark brown, but her sides were the color of straw. It made a wonderful pattern to paint and was much lighter in color than I thought grizzlies ever were. After that I saw others and found that they are all individuals and vary considerably in color pattern.”
PROVENANCE
Trailside Galleries, Scottsdale, Arizona, 1989
Private collection, Bridgewater, Connecticut
