Shumaker, Philip G.

Description

Philip Graule Shumaker

Philip Graule Shumaker was born on February 3, 1921, in Rochester, Pennsylvania, to Agnes Marguerite Graule, age 27, and Fred Shepler Shumaker. He attended Mamaroneck High School and Grand Central School of Art. He had one brother and one sister and in Rye his family lived on Overdale Road and were members of the Presbyterian Church.

Philip enlisted in 1942 and served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. He served in the Pacific Theatre as a Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class.

In World War II, a Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class (BM1) in the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) was a senior petty officer (E-6) responsible for the ship’s deck operations, small boat handling, and supervising lower-ranking personnel. As the Coast Guard’s oldest and most traditional rating, BMs were essential to every mission, from coastal rescues to the largest amphibious invasions.

Phil married Miss Geraldine Daly on May 11, 1945. The ceremony was performed at All Saints Church, Long Beach, Cal. The couple spent their honeymoon in California. After his leave, the bridegroom returned to duty with the Coast Guard and Mrs.
Shumaker made her home with her mother in Larchmont.

Upon his honorable discharge, he returned and studied at the Grand Central School of Art and the Art Students League. Among his teachers were Frank Vincent Dumond, Edmund Graecen and Ivan Olinsky.

Phil followed his own advice and maintained studios at Monhegan Island, ME and Rockport, MA. For a number of years he owned a studio in Mamaroneck, NY where he painted and taught several classes. To his students he imparted a profound philosophy of art which is reflected in the book ”Painting the Sea” which he wrote the year prior to his death (now out-of-print).

He was a member of Grand Central Art Galleries, New York; Doll and Richards, Boston; and IFA Art Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Phil also belonged to many art groups: among them The Hudson Valley Art Association; The National Arts Club; Allied Artists of America; American Artists Professional League; Salmagundi Club; Copley Society; Rockport Art Association, Kennebunk Valley Art Assoc.; Guild of Boston Artists; and Dallas Artists and Craftsmen Assoc.

His works are represented in the collections of (as they were known at the time of his death) the Kerr Shipping Co., Standard Oil, the National Shawmut Bank and the Morgan Collection. Three of his largest paintings are on display at the Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York City.