John Willard Clawson is a Utah artist best known for his portrait paintings. Clawson painted in an impressionist style which is evident in many of his pieces. He used thick paint and bright colors to give his portraits life and realism. Clawson actually was more interested in painting landscapes when he first started painting professionally but decided that portraits would be more profitable. Clawson painted portraits for multiple high-profile clients, including Hollywood movie stars and celebrities, leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and members of the English parliament.<\/p>
John Willard Clawson was born on January 18, 1858 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was the son of Hiram Clawson and Alice Young Clawson. He was also a grandson to LDS Church President Brigham Young<\/a>. Clawson attended public school in Salt Lake City and attended the University of Desert after graduating. While at the University of Deseret he studied under George Ottinger<\/a> who encouraged him to seek further art education outside of Utah. Clawson decided to follow this advice and moved to New York City with his new wife, Mary, to study at the National Academy of Design. After finishing his studies in New York, he returned to Salt Lake City where he worked as an artist for a living, painting both portraits and landscapes. After working in Utah for a time, he left for Europe to fulfil a dream of studying art there. He was tutored in Paris and had the privilege of being instructed by Claude Monet<\/a> and other well-known artists. He also had the opportunity to study in Italy and England before returning to America.<\/p> In his later years, Clawson worked in many locations throughout the United States. His artistic passion and talent took him to San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Utah. His unique and bold style of painting attracted many customers who went to him for vibrant portraits. While portraits were Clawson\u2019s main source of income, he always had a passion for landscapes that was driven by a love of the outdoors. At the end of his career, he returned to Utah to paint her deserts and skies. Unfortunately, he was only able to spend three years in Utah before passing away from a sudden heart attack at the age of 78.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t![\"J](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.moffettfinearts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/John-Willard-Clawson.jpg?fit=792%2C1024&ssl=1\")
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