PAUL DARROW (1921- 2019)

Paul Darrow, a Pasadena native, is one of many Claremont Artists who used the GI Bill following WWII to pursue studies in art, in his case, at the Claremont Graduate School.  Paul recalls being “entranced by the Millard Sheets syndrome – the idea that art was possible for the middle-class guy, that you were permitted to live like a regular person and have a house, respect, and money by doing keen stuff like murals and painting.”

While he admired Sheets, Darrow was not interested in painting regional landscapes.  The socially conscious work of such East Coast artists like Jack Levine and Ben Shahn were more appealing to him and many members of the post-war generation of artists in Claremont, which included Doug McClellan, Jack Zajac and Roger Kuntz.  Sheets dubbed them the “Unhappiness Boys.”

Paul Darrow first explored the commercial arts such as cartooning (he was the official cartoonist at the Claremont Courier for over 5 decades), and illustration. He later progressed to realism, and then to abstraction in painting, photography and collage.Best known for his abilities as a drawing instructor, he also founded the Scripps Graphics Studio and became a founder of the L.A. Printmaking Society.From 1956 – 1992 he was a member of the faculty at Scripps College and the Claremont Graduate School.Darrow spent his later years at his home and studio in Laguna Beach.