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Bob Clem Exhibit Flyer
The Raptor’s Eye:
The Natural World of
Robert Verity Clem

Special Exhibit at the Atwood House Museum
2011 - 2012

Introduction

The 2011 summer season at the Atwood House Museum features a special exhibit commemorating the life and work of artist Robert Verity Clem, a Chatham local for more than 60 years, who died in 2010. Bob’s watercolors captured the undisturbed beauty of the natural world expertly through his artistic vision, scientific precision, and true passion as a painter of birds in their natural surroundings. Like some of his favorite subjects, he saw - and painted - the natural world in exquisite detail, that is, with a Raptor’s Eye.

Bob Clem in his boat Many Chatham friends saw him at his frequent station steering his beloved double-ender launch, cruising purposefully in Chatham’s coastal waterways and on its remote barrier islands. Others noticed Bob observing the many birds that pass through Chatham on yearly migrations, through a spotting scope from his car or on foot. However, very few knew Robert Verity Clem for his prowess as a painter of birds in their natural surroundings.

Background

Bob Clem in his studio Bob Clem was born in 1933 in Fall River Massachusetts; he grew up in Hamden Connecticut and spent summers in Chatham until becoming a year-round resident in the 1950s. He appreciated the allure and beauty of birds at an early age-through direct observation and through the work of Louis Agassiz Fuertes, whose illustrations of birds Clem admired. By his eleventh birthday, Clem was drawing and painting birds. During his teens, he began a long mentorship with ornithologist and artist George Sutton - who was taught by Fuertes. By 1955 Clem was commissioned to paint birds for industrialist Julius Fleischmann, who maintained an aviary at his home in Naples Florida. Here Clem spent six months of every year for a decade refining his artistic sensibility and gaining mastery over the unforgiving medium of watercolor.

Shorebirds book In 1967, Bob Clem created all the paintings for the comprehensive book on shorebirds entitled: The Shorebirds of North America, by Peter Matthiessen and Gardner Stout. Clem dedicated the balance of his life to painting shorebirds and raptors with one aim in mind - to bridge the gap between avian illustration and fine art. He moved away from painting birds as the primary subject of his paintings, rather they became an integrated component within their indigenous environment. This occurrence paralleled Clem’s own evolution as an avid conservationist.

Bob Clem in the field Bob Clem was a passionate conservationist and an important voice on the Chatham Conservation Foundation’s Board of Trustees, on which he served 25 years beginning in 1985. He faithfully patrolled and maintained the Foundation’s trails - undoubtedly observing his beloved subject matter and deriving inspiration for his art. He also served for several years on the Chatham Conservation Commission.

The Exhibit

Co-sponsored by the Chatham Conservation Foundation, this special exhibit honors and preserves the memory of Bob Clem by exposing visitors not only to his art, but also to the man and the poignantly beautiful Chatham environment that inspired him. One corner of the gallery houses a reconstruction of his studio, including the actual drawing board on which so many of his masterworks were created. A model of his loved wooden double-ender boat is also on display, along with many other artifacts such as his signature hat, paintbrushes, and the binoculars he used so often to observe nature quietly from afar.

Clem Boat Model The three major themes explored in the exhibit are conservation, raptors and shorebirds. On display are large-scale paintings, such as Clem’s “Island Three”, an iconic scene with playful crows donated by the Chatham Conservation Foundation to honor his legacy. Also at the core of the exhibit are numerous other works courtesy of private collections,and smaller paintings and studies that lend insights into his process and compositional approach. All of the works chronicle Clem’s artistic development and thematic scope, and focus on his time living and working in Chatham.

The full press release announcing the exhibit can be found on our Press Page.

Education Programs

An exciting supplementary educational program, “Birding in the Footsteps of Bob Clem”, is being offered in partnership with the Massachusetts Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. See this separate page describing these educational programs.

Additional Information

As with almost any topic nowadays, additional information about Bob Clem can be found on the internet. For those who are interested in learning more, the following links may be of interest: