Gene Alden Walker Crary (1898 - 1988)
Born in New Albany, Indiana, the elder daughter of Herbert Graham and Clara Perry Walker, Gene was a direct descendent of John and Priscilla Alden, "America's First Couple". She studied art and graduated from the Pratt Institute, followed by study at the National Academy of Design with Charles Hawthorne, N.A. and the studio of Jerry Farnsworth, N.A. She exhibited widely, received many awards, and is represented in the National Academy of Design's permanent collection and a number of private collections. Gene was a member of The Grand Central Gallery of Art, Audubon Artists, Allied Artists, The National Arts Club, The National Association of Women Artists, and the Pen and Brush Club. Her studio was located in the carriage house for the old Crary mansion that stood where the gallery now stands.
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In the early 1920's Gene and Marion Sanford Sleeman set up a studio they dubbed "Stepping Stones", on Liberty Street Extension in Warren. After Marion's departure to New York City, Gene also maintained a studio at The National Arts Club for 15 years. When Gene and Clare Crary married, the loft over the Crary family's carriage house (still standing) became her studio. Their travels in the United States and abroad inspired Gene's painting and CJ's creativity as a photographer. Though her works reflect several subjects such as streetscapes, landscapes, figure and flower studies, Gene Walker Crary is best remembered for her portraits in oil which garnered most acclaim.
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