Clint McCall
Inherited Legacy
Episode 80
Episode length: 1 hour and 21 minutes
I originally invited Clint McCall on The Artful Painter because I wanted to talk about the preservation of Edgar Alwin Payne's legacy—and particularly the extraordinary work his father, DeWitt McCall, did to preserve Payne's work and ideas. But like many things I start to explore, things took an interesting, unexpected turn. What really surprised me was Clint himself. I was struck by Clint’s humility and modesty. Often I would ask Clint a question, and he would humble defer to his father as the real expert and authority. He readily acknowledges that his father was the real art expert. As we talked I began to realize that Clint’s story is just as important as that of his father.
You see, art wasn't in Clint McCall’s wheelhouse. Even though he as a child was thoroughly exposed to the art world by his father and his father’s gallery DeRu’s Fine Art, he chose to follow a different path. Initially, he had no intention of following his father into the art business. He spent his career in law enforcement on rose through the ranks. Indeed, he could write a book on his many exploits and accomplishments in law enforcement!
Clint’s father was unexpectedly hospitalized in 2020. Sadly his father did not survive. Upon his father’s sudden death, Clint inherited an extraordinary legacy built by his father over the course of several decades. He could not turn his back on what his father had built. So, Clint now found himself becoming the steward of his father’s legacy. That remarkable legacy included all of the paintings, books, photography, and detailed records, and books that DeWitt McCall had gathered and curated. For more than five decades, DeWitt McCall was deeply involved in the preservation, restoration, authentication, and promotion of Early California Impressionist art – including Edgar Payne. His relationship with Edgar Payne's daughter, Evelyn Payne Hatcher, eventually led him to become the representative of the Payne estate and the steward of Payne's influential book, Composition of Outdoor Painting. For Clint, it was a huge, daunting job! However, Clint quietly stepped into that role, not by pretending to be his father, but by figuring out how to preserve what his father built.
In this episode, my conversation with Clint ranges from his father DeWitt McCall’s beginnings as a framer and craftsman to his work as a restorer and art dealer; from Clint's childhood memories of the De Ru’s Fine Art gallery to his first meeting with Evelyn Payne Hatcher; and from the challenges of authenticating Edgar Payne paintings to the responsibility of keeping Payne's teachings alive for another generation. Clint shares some wonderful personal stories—including the story of an Edgar Payne painting he encountered as a young man without fully realizing what he was seeing, the index-card archive his father kept on thousands of paintings, and the remarkable collection of objects from Edgar Payne's studio that Clint still has today.
So in this edition of The Artful Painter, while my original focus was to talk about the legacy of Edgar Payne—I end up exploring something much deeper and personal: what happens when an unlikely person inherits the responsibility for keeping an artist's legacy alive. These unexpected turns in conversation are the gems I look forward to uncovering when I interview someone. Talking with Clint was no exception. This episode is a human story. It’s about inheritance, responsibility, an unexpected calling finding yourself the custodian of something much larger than you could have ever imagined!
This is Clint McCall’s story.
Clint McCall
Links
Clint McCall
Website: https://derusfinearts.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/compositionofoutdoorpainting/
Books
Composition of Outdoor Painting | Edgar Payne: https://amzn.to/4ggj9ty
Edgar Payne - The Scenic Journey | Scott Shields, Lisa Peters, Peter Hassrick, Jean Stern, Pat Trenton : https://amzn.to/4xjTE26
The Payne's: Edgar and Elsie : American Artists | Rena Neumann Coen: https://amzn.to/4gkpdkU
The Drawings of Edgar Payne, 1883-1947 | Evelyn Payne Hatcher: https://amzn.to/4zqZ9NH
Edgar Payne, 1882-1947 | Goldfield Galleries: https://amzn.to/4hNOVRb
Edgar Alwin Payne and His Works | Antony Anderson, Fred Hogue, Stendal Art Galleries: https://theartfulpainter.com/edgar-alwin-payne-and-his-works
Other Links
DeWitt “De” McCall III: https://derusfinearts.com/dewitt-de-mccall-iii-bio/
Elsie Palmer Payne: https://store.sternfinearts.com/elpapa1.html
Eva Matysek | Fine Art Restoration: http://www.evamatysekartrestoration.com/
William Wendt: https://lagunaartmuseum.org/in-natures-temple-the-life-and-art-of-william-wendt
Frank Cuprien: https://lagunaartmuseum.org/frank-cuprien-for-the-love-of-the-sea
Carl Moon: https://americanart.si.edu/artist/carl-moon-3386
Mason Cole Williams: https://skidmorecontemporaryart.com/about-mason-cole-williams/
Alfred R. Mitchell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_R._Mitchell
Laguna Art Museum: https://lagunaartmuseum.org/
Los Angeles County Museum of Art: https://collections.lacma.org/
Pasadena Museum of California Art: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasadena_Museum_of_California_Art
The Huntington: https://www.huntington.org/collections/mus-290
Mason Williams: https://www.masonwilliamsart.com/
Matt Smith: https://theartfulpainter.com/artful-painter/matt-smith-2
Ralph Oberg: https://theartfulpainter.com/artful-painter/ralph-oberg-1
Frank Serrano: https://theartfulpainter.com/artful-painter/frank-serrano-61
Len Chmiel: https://theartfulpainter.com/artful-painter/len-chmiel-12 and https://theartfulpainter.com/artful-painter/len-chmiel-42
Christine Lashley: https://theartfulpainter.com/artful-painter/christine-lashley-9
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Transcript
A Note About This Transcript
This transcript has been edited for clarity. I’ve endeavored to capture the thoughts and expressions of my guest as accurately and truthfully as possible. In some cases this means completing incomplete thoughts, removing stammers and word fillers such as um, like, you know, and so forth. I’ve edited the transcript to make it easier to read. Please pardon the inevitable errors that I may have made or overlooked.
“Transcript coming soon.”
