Park Sumner

Park Eldridge Sumner (b. December 2 1888 in Coddingville, Medina County, Ohio to Wilbur and Sarah Sumner. His early life was spent on his father’s farm near Sharon Center, OH where he appears to have lived until sometime around 1917 . About this time, Mr. Sumner moved into Medina and married a woman named Ethel. Park and Ethel later moved to Akron and had a child named Jeanette.

The Artist's Life

Park Sumner was educated at Granger High School and later the Cleveland School of Art. Mr. Sumner’s artistic career began in 1912 when he became a political cartoonist for the Youngstown Telegram. He later went to work for the Detroit Tribune and was a political activist, as well as cartoonist, in that city. In 1924, Sumner went to work for Goodyear Aircraft Corp. as a technical artist – a position he held for 13 years until his retirement on Feb. 1, 1937. Also in the mid-to-late-1930s, Mr. Sumner worked as an illustrator for several magazines and for Saalfield Publishing in Akron, Ohio. He illustrated at least three “Little Big Books” for Saalfield: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1934), Black Beauty (1934), and Desert Justice (1938). In addition, Sumner was the author of several books – Tomorrow Comes (serialized in the Akron Beacon Journal), and Technical Illustrator which was never published. Park Sumner was also a painter. He is known to have submitted work for several mural projects, but lost out to others. At least three of his mural studies survive to present day – the pair that are the subject of this research and one owned by the Cuyahoga Falls Historical Society.

The Political Artist

In addition to his commercial art work, Park Sumner was also a great art advocate and political activist. He co-founded several organizations including the Akron Art Institute (which later became the Akron Art Museum, the Guaranteed Security Plan and the Bellamy Society of Akron. He also tried his hand at politics in the mid-‘30s having run for Ohio’s 14th Congressional District twice. In 1934, Sumner ran on the Socialist Party of America ticket and garnered only 1,194 votes. He ran again in 1936, this time backed by the Townsend Club, and managed to get 8,698 votes. He was also an unsuccessful Socialist candidate for Mayor of Akron. In addition, Sumner headed the 1940 Federal Census in the Akron Area. Park Sumner died on Oct. 1, 1958 after a long illness leaving behind his wife Ethel, his daughter Jeanette Miles, three grandchildren and a sister, Yuba Newton. He was cremated and his service was held on Saturday Oct. 4, 1958 at the Billow Akron Chapel and was officiated by Dr. Carl J. Westman.

The Goodyear Mural Studies

His most notable surviving works are the pair of mural studies done in the 1930s. They are untitled, but have been dubbed 'The Goodyear Mural Studies' by the current owner. These two paintings appear to be oil-on-canvas with a graphite or charcoal grid covering the entire surface of each painting. The paintings are approximately the same size and are 36 ⅝” x 19 ¼” framed and would be about 34 ¼” x 17” unframed. The current owner of the paintings is the one who had them framed. The paintings were done by Park Sumner, presumably sometime in the mid-to-late-1930s. It was said that they were submitted to Goodyear for a mural project in one of their then-new buildings. Whether or not the murals themselves were actually painted is, as yet, an unanswered question. A gentleman who was a long-time electrical engineer for Goodyear and helped to construct several of the blimps looked at the mural studies a few years ago. He believed that the murals may have been painted in a Goodyear building that burned a number of years ago, but no evidence of this has yet come to light. Another suggestion was that Sumner submitted these studies for a mural project and lost out to someone else. The only evidence that hints at whether or not the murals were painted is the existence of the grids on the paintings. It is highly unlikely that Sumner would have drawn the grids if he had not been preparing to actually paint the murals. Still, it is possible that these murals never made it onto the walls of a Goodyear building.

The subject of the mural studies is nearly as fascinating as the history of their creator. The murals depict the two faces of the rubber industry – the chemists and the laborers. The ‘chemists’ study is fairly straightforward in its depiction of the subject matter. There are three figures in the work, all are chemists working away diligently to find the next great discovery in rubber while a dirigible floats majestically past their window. All three figures in this painting are remarkably similar with limited detail in the faces. The most vibrant colors and the greatest care was reserved for the chemicals themselves. This would seem to suggest that the artist had a great respect for the materials of the trade and perhaps a bit less for the men making the discoveries. This view of the white collar chemists is strongly reinforced when one looks at the ‘chemists’ study side-by-side with the ‘workers’ study. Sumner used rich and vibrant colors, elegant lighting, and a talent for depicting the male physique to glorify the blue collar workers. The workers have strong and elegant faces with far more detail than the chemists and are pictured bare-chested in poses of masculine strength. The disparity in the representations of the chemists and the workers makes a great deal of sense when Sumner’s ties to the Socialist Party and various workers’ organizations are considered. It is reasonable to believe that when painting these Sumner, a long-time workers’ rights advocate, sought to lionize the laborers while simultaneously criticizing the white collar chemists – if only a little.

   Throughout the centuries, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of artists have simply been lost to history.  Park Sumner, illustrator, painter, activist, is on the verge of being lost forever.  Though there seems to be little of his work left, there is enough to preserve another piece of American history.  We can only hope that someday his work will be recognized for its beauty, excellence, and interesting sociopolitical significance.