Austin Merrill Mecklem (1890–1951) was an American artist. He did mural projects for the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

era before settling down in the artist colony at

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...

. One of his works, ''Old Town in Alaska'', is in the

Wrangell, Alaska The City and Borough of Wrangell ( tli, Ḵaachx̱ana.áakʼw, russian: Врангель) is a borough in Alaska, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 2,127, down from 2,369 in 2010. Incorporated as a Unified Home Rule Bor ...

post office. Mecklem's work is in the permanent collections of the Speed Memorial Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, the Binghamton (N.Y.) Museum of Fine Arts in Binghamton, New York, the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...

in New York City, the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, both in New York City and the Smithsonian.

Personal life

Mecklem was born in

Colfax, Washington Colfax is the county seat of Whitman County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,805 at the 2010 census. The population is estimated at 2,911 per the State of Washington Office of Financial Management in 2018 making Colfax the secon ...

on December 17, 1890. (He later often gave his birth year as 1894, but the earlier date has been confirmed by a family record and by a signed, witnessed 1926 application by Mecklem to the Navy for adjustment to compensation for his naval reserve service.) Mecklem was a son of Archibald McDanel Mecklem and Laura Isobelle Smith. One of Austin's brothers was Llewellyn Guy "L. G." Mecklem (1882-1973), daredevil aerialist and racecar driver, who made the first powered flight over Seattle, in a hydrogen-filled airship, in 1908. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Mecklem joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and served on the

USS Brooklyn (ACR-3) USS ''Brooklyn'' (ACR-3/CA-3) was the third United States Navy armored cruiser, the only one to be named at commissioning for a city rather than a state. Ordered for $3,450,420.29 (hull and machinery), she was launched on 2 October 1895 by Willi ...

. Soon after the war ended, the Brooklyn headed to

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

, Russia to support the

American Expeditionary Force, Siberia The American Expeditionary Force, Siberia (AEF in Siberia) was a formation of the United States Army involved in the Russian Civil War in Vladivostok, Russia, after the October Revolution, from 1918 to 1920. The force was part of the larger All ...

. On a document he filed with the Navy, Mecklem stated that he served in Vladivostok for "about 7 months in the harbor about 2 months of which were shore duty." After leaving the Navy, Mecklem then moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and studied at the

Art Students League The Art Students League of New York is an art school at American Fine Arts Society, 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists ...

with

Kenneth Hayes Miller Kenneth Hayes Miller (March 11, 1876 – January 1, 1952) was an American painter, printmaker, and teacher. Career Born in Oneida, New York, he studied at the Art Students League of New York with Kenyon Cox, Henry Siddons Mowbray and with Willia ...

and

Boardman Robinson Boardman Michael Robinson (1876–1952) was a Canadian-American painter, illustrator and cartoonist. Biography Early years Boardman Robinson was born September 6, 1876 in Nova Scotia. He spent his childhood in England and Canada, before mov ...

. In 1926, he traveled to France, Holland, Belgium and England.Obituary, October 8, 1951, ''Evening Star'' Mecklem married

Hannah Small Hannah Mecklem Small, later Hannah Mecklem Small Ludins (January 9, 1903 – April 25, 1992) was an American sculptor. Born in New York City, Small was the daughter of Eugene and Grace Workum Small. As a teenager she enrolled in the Art Students ...

about 1923. The couple lived in the Maverick "art colony" in

, then moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, where Mecklem taught painting and had his first solo show, at the

Portland Art Museum The Portland Art Museum in Portland, Oregon, United States, was founded in 1892, making it one of the oldest art museums on the West Coast and seventh oldest in the US. Upon completion of the most recent renovations, the Portland Art Museum becam ...

in 1928. Austin and Hannah traveled to Europe in 1929, and resided in

for a time. Hannah Small became romantically involved with the painter

Eugene Ludins Eugene Ludins (March 23, 1904 in Mariupol Russian Empire – May 20, 1996 in New York City) was a leading regional American painter and academic. His paintings are in the collection of the Whitney Museum of Art, and his works have been shown in so ...

, and eventually Small and Mecklem divorced, after which Small married Ludins. Mecklem married Marianne Appel in 1937. They lived at the Maverick colony in Woodstock in a cabin. Mecklem died on October 7, 1951. Austin and Marianne had two children, Sarah Greer Mecklem and Margaret Merrill Mecklem. After Austin's death, Marianne moved, with her daughters, to New York City, where she worked as a puppet designer, and authored and illustrated children's books; she later worked for

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

. In 1960, she married Carl Harms, an actor, puppeteer, and board member of Actors Equity.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mecklem, Austin 1890 births 1951 deaths American muralists University of Washington alumni San Francisco Art Institute alumni People from Colfax, Washington Art Students League of New York alumni 20th-century American artists American male artists United States Navy personnel of World War I Federal Art Project artists American military personnel of the Russian Civil War Section of Painting and Sculpture artists