Travis - "African Scene" Abstract watercolor painting featuring zebras, birds and multiple colors.

Paul Travis, American, 1891-1975

African Scene • Watercolor 21-3/8" x 28-3/4"

Marjorie Penfield Travis’ grandfather left his Ohio farm in 1847 to visit New York, returning four years later to find his wife remarried. So, when Marjorie’s husband, Paul Travis, wanted to hike across Africa, she wasn’t taking any chances and tagged along. Traveling from Capetown, South Africa, to Cairo, Egypt, the couple collected African art and artifacts, learned to skin wild game, painted scenery and absorbed the culture. For people raised on rural Ohio farms, the journey was a watershed in their lives. It had a similar effect on the cultural life of Cleveland, their adopted home.

In 1929 they returned to Cleveland and Paul reclaimed his teaching position at his college alma mater, the Cleveland Institute of Art. Marjorie raised three children in their Cleveland Heights home. But, the exotic scenery, animals and people of Africa were never far away, fueling Paul’s rise among the Cleveland School artists, a group at the forefront of the modern art movement in the early to mid-1900s. As he developed a fresh, modern style he inched closer to the primitive, colorful art he’d seen in Africa.

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Paul Bough Travis only left his native Ohio twice. First to fight in France during WWI, staying an extra year to teach art in French schools. His second major trip was Africa, sponsored by a group of Cleveland African-Americans interested in African art. The art and artifacts Paul and Majorie brought back still remain in the collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Africa also became the life-long subject matter of Travis’ art, including the award-winning paintings he exhibited at 52 Annual May Shows where he became one of the most decorated participants.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer once called Travis’s work “some of the most historically significant art this city has ever produced.”

Art, Africa and Teaching defined Paul Travis. His curiosity took the Ohio farm boy from Yellow Paint Creek to Victoria Falls and back again. He taught at the Cleveland Institute of Art for 37 years. But, he is most remembered for bringing Africa to America, leaving large chunks of the continent in Cleveland and Canton.

Come to the Canton Museum of Art and stand beneath African skies.

Canton Museum of Art Permanent Collection • Purchased by the Canton Museum of Art, 2007.3

4 Ways to Sound Smart When Viewing at The Canton Museum of Art

1.
“As an Ohio farm boy, he dreamed of being famed explorer, Sir Henry Stanley. In 1928 he roughly followed Stanley’s trail across Africa.”

2.
“Much of the art and artifacts he brought back from Africa are still in the collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Natural History Museum.”

3.
“His fascination with Africa led him to a close relationship with Cleveland’s African-American community. He even served on the boards of Karamu House and the Cleveland Council on Human Relations.”

4.
“Turns out he was a pretty good writer as well, and has a number of short stories in archives at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.”

Paul Travis Timeline. Scroll over images to see timeline.

1891

Born to Elizabeth Bough Travis and William Melancthon Travis in Wellsville, Ohio, at the southern tip of Columbiana County, Yellow Paint Creek Township.

1912

Graduated high school in Wellsville and became a teacher in Madison Township. Teaching became one of the touchstones in his life until he retired to create art full-time in 1957.

1913

He was offered an engineering scholarship from Washington & Jefferson College. However, he declined the scholarship and, instead, moved to Cleveland to enroll in the Cleveland School of Art, forerunner to the Cleveland Institute of Art. There he became a protege of modernist Henry Keller, and friends with Charles Burfield and Frank Wilcox, who both became well-known modern artists.

1917

Graduated from the Cleveland School of Art with a degree in Illustration, and the possibility of a commercial art career. Instead, he enlisted in the Army and was sent to a base outside LeMans during WWI. When a commanding officer noticed his artistic talent and intellect, he was assigned to survey work.

1918

Upon the end of WWI, he remained in France for another year teaching art at the American Forces University of Beaune, and sketching scenery as he traveled about France.

1920

Returned to Cleveland where he accepted a teaching position at his alma mater, the Cleveland School of Art. He remained at the school for the next 37 years. This was also the year when he began a remarkable string of 52 straight years of entries in the prestigious Cleveland Museum of Art’s May Show. He became one of the show’s most decorated participants.

1925

Married Marjorie Penfield who had also grown up on a farm along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. The couple eventually had three children: William, Jane and Elizabeth.

1928

Took a sabbatical from teaching to fulfill a lifelong ambition to join an expedition to Africa. His trip was paid for by a group of African-American businessmen in Cleveland who were interested in African art. Over his 8 month tour he traveled from Capetown, South Africa, to Cairo, Egypt, collecting art and artifacts along the way. He also made original paintings of African scenery.

1929

Returned to Cleveland where much of the art and artifacts he collected ended up in the collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and Karamu House. His trip to Africa also propelled a prolific art career. Much of his art was focused on Africa and created using oils, watercolors and etching needles.

1957

Retired from active teaching at the age of 66. In retirement he created art, wrote a number of short stories, served as trustee at the Goodrich House, Karamu House and the Cleveland Council on Human Relations. He also gave regular lectures at universities.

1975

Died at his home in Cleveland at the age of 84. Marjorie survived. They had been married for over 50 years.