Thanks to Sid Van Ulm, my father was
timidly open-minded about my being an artist. Growing up in southeast
Houston during the Great Depression, it was my father's firm memory
that his neighbor Sid Van Ulm, an artist and writer, had means and
status when many other local men were unemployed and hopeless. Later
my father worked for a short while as a reporter in Houston, and came
to know his childhood hero as a professional associate. I believe
that it was during this time that he begged off this wonderful
watercolor from “Van.” He kept this sketch proudly among his
things in his “cave,” and only years later did I learn the depth
of the story behind it.
My assessment of the artwork now is
that it is quite decent, as a quick newspaper illustration, and
depicts something I have never seen illustrated anywhere else... the
harvesting of wild Texas longhorns by Plains Indians. We know it
happened, before and after the Reservation era, but Native Americans
hunting buffalo has always been the image when considering their
cultural hunting habits. Van Ulm offers in this watercolor an exciting and
uniquely Texan moment which quietly fed my boyhood imagination... and
my dad's positive disposition towards the arts.
But here is the rest of the story
according to my father, author Ralph B. Cushman...
Sidney
Van Ulm
by Ralph B. Cushman
Van was a family friend
for us as long as I can remember. He was a lifelong friend and
traveler with my uncle Palmer Woods. They migrated to Texas out of
Boston shortly after WWI ended in 1919. Neither Van or Uncle Palmer
were enthusiastic about a job which confined their roaming instincts.
Van Ulm earned a living writing copy
for the Houston Press until it folded, doing mostly sports page
reporting. Van's primary interests were golf and golfers. His buddy,
Palmer Woods made a living for years hustling a golf game from
persons bent on the same thing he was after... the other guy's money.
For years it was Van's job to arrange matches for Palmer and tag
along to keep tabs on the wagers, especially the money Palmer bet.
Van usually picked up a buck or two when he helped to spot a “lame
pigeon.”
Several years after Palmer took his own
life, Van told me about his relationship with Palmer back in Boston.
Van was taking art lessons and during his studies he came to a day
when nude models were the subject of his painting. When he told uncle
Palmer about the coming attraction, Palmer was suddenly stricken with
an interest in art, and accompanied Van to art class. To keep from
attracting undue attention staring at the nude, Palmer feigned
reading a newspaper. There was a hole the size of a quarter cut out
of the paper to afford him ample viewing. This was pretty much the
extent of art education for his friend Palmer.
Van, as Palmer's closest ally, knew most of the array of
characters associated with this legendary golf hustler. From Bing
Crosby, to M. E. Foster to Gen. Hap Arnold to Leo Corrigan, Van said
that riding with Palmer Woods gave him an entree to a world he could
never have found or afforded.
Van was quite an artist, and he also
had quite a story!
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