Paul Travis
Birth Date: January 2, 1891
Death Date: November 23, 1975
Artist Gallery
Paul Travis was born in Wellsville, Ohio, in 1891. He attended the Cleveland School of Art (now called the Cleveland Institute of Art) from 1913 – 1917, studying under painter Henry Keller. During his time there he also became friends with Charles Burchfield and Frank N Wilcox, who became members of the Cleveland School. Travis graduated from the Cleveland School of Art with a degree in illustration. After graduation, Travis enlisted and served in the U.S. Army during WWI. He stayed in Europe when the war was over, painting and teaching life drawing at the American Expeditionary Forces University in France. In 1920 Travis went back to Cleveland where he began teaching at his alma mater. He entered his work into the Cleveland Museum of Art’s annual May show and his work began to gain notoriety and win awards. In 1928, Travis spent 8 months in Africa on a sabbatical. While he was there he documented his experience through film, photography, drawing, and watercolor. He also collected artifacts that would eventually find their home at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. His trip deeply impacted the style of his work, and his most famous paintings depict scenes from Africa. Travis retired from the Cleveland School of Art in 1957, and passed away in 1975. At the time of his passing he had entered his artwork into over 50 May Show exhibitions and was a staple of the Cleveland art scene.