Kenneth Graham
Kenneth Graham: About the Artist
Kenneth Graham (1915–2014) was born in New Mexico, the fourth of nine children in the family of Indiana homesteaders Will and Vesta Graham. When Kenneth was a toddler, his parents became weary of struggling to farm in the desert, and moved their family to the lush hills of Virginia. After many happy years there, his family moved once again in 1927, following their roots back to Indiana.
Growing up, Kenneth was active, curious, and relished time spent outside with his siblings. His love of nature (and especially birds) was apparent from a young age. As he got older, he helped out at his parents' cider mill and worked on his uncle’s farm. In high school, he played football and ran track (for which he earned a letter) and was involved in the Athletic Association.
Kenneth was 27 when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942 and sent to the European theater of World War II. In December of 1944, he got sick with pneumonia and was sent to a hospital in England to recover—an event that spared him from fighting in the Battle of the Bulge. After V-E Day in 1945, Kenneth was sent directly to the Pacific Theater, where he worked at a mailroom in the Philippines. He finally returned in December of 1945.
As he adjusted back to civilian life, Kenneth was convinced he would spend the rest of his adult life as a bachelor—until he met Rose Faye Carter, his sister’s college roommate. Kenneth liked to say, “I had a 'no trespassing' sign on my heart, and she ignored it.” The year after Rose graduated and began her teaching career, the two got married. They began life together in Kenneth’s hometown of Auburn, Indiana, and eventually bought a 50-acre property outside of town, where they raised their five kids and spent the rest of their lives.
The world of nature was a constant source of wonder and inspiration for Kenneth. An excellent photographer, he documented family life and animals with pictures and 8mm film. Some of his interest in painting was certainly inspired by his father, Will, who began painting watercolor landscapes in middle age.
However, it was his mother, Vesta, who had the greatest influence on him and his appreciation for small moments of beauty. Vesta loved flowers, and was known for her colorful gardens as well as her ability to turn simple roadside “weeds” into beautiful bouquets. If there was a particularly exquisite sunset, she would have the family leave the dinner table to enjoy the remarkable sight. Kenneth learned well from his mother and observed the world with the eye of an artist and one who appreciates beauty.
In 1963, he decided to pursue his artistic dream by taking a painting correspondence course, which helped him develop and perfect his craft. He loved to paint the landscapes and peaceful nature scenes that inspired him: ripening wheat fields, leafy forests, a red barn in the soft light of sunset, birds singing from budding tree branches. He also painted portraits of family members and scenes from his youth.
Often, his art took a backseat to raising his family and earning a living as a house painter, but in his retirement years, he was able to devote plenty of time to artistic pursuits. Many of the paintings he created in this time were given to friends and family or sold at his church’s bazaar. Kenneth was generous with his art, considering it to be a small payment for the extra years of life he had been granted. Many days you could find him walking through the woods or sitting in his painting chair, looking out at the trees, the birds at the feeder, and the neighboring farm fields, soaking in the inspiration for his next painting.
