by Kandace Steadman

The Pioneers by Paul Clowes (courtesy a private collector)

Paul Clowes, a highly talented Utah artist, is largely overlooked for his art and illustrations that punctuated publications during the 1930s and 40s. Born in Salt Lake City in July 1903, his artistic talent appeared early. He attended LDS High School, and later studied with Jack Sears at the University of Utah, where he graduated with a fine arts degree.

After graduation Clowes partnered with Fielding K. Smith and Louis Larsen in a public relations firm called Ad Craftsman. He became a well-known and prominent Salt Lake City businessman. In 1948 he was elected president of the Salt Lake Advertising Club. He illustrated covers for numerous national magazines including Colliers.

Some of his work can be found in Architect and Engineer magazine, The Improvement Era, as well as in illustrations for copyrights. Clowes was commissioned by the LDS Church to produce a large canvas portraying the first printing of the Deseret News. In 1945 he illustrated Maurine Whipple’s book, This is the Place.

His largest known commission is a series of thirteen murals in the Silver Dollar Bar at the Wort Hotel in Jackson, Wyoming. He completed these between 1945 and 1950 and they can still be seen today. Clowes used stories from the history of Jackson Hole as the basis for the illustrations.

When the U.S. was drawn into World War II, he served as a captain in the Army Air Force, and later as a major in General Eisenhower’s Supreme Headquarters in England. Discharged in 1945, he returned to Salt Lake and resumed his career in advertising.

Clowes died in February 1959. At the time of his death he was eulogized by both of Salt Lake’s daily newspapers, who recognized him “as one of the nation’s outstanding painters of Western scenes.”

“Las Vegas,” a cover illustration by Paul Clowes (courtesy a private collector)

The Museum of Utah Art & History is gathering information about Clowes and other Utah artists who aren’t in the canon of Utah art history and creating a database of biographies and images. If you have additional information about Paul Clowes, images, or other overlooked artists that you would like to see included please contact Kandace Steadman at ksteadman@muahnet.org

15 Bytes

UTAH’S ART MAGAZINE SINCE 2001, 15 Bytes is published by Artists of Utah, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.