Paul A. Randall

male	1879-1933
Era: 19th/20th Century
Life city: Warsaw, IN
Work city: Indianapolis, IN
Teachers: Forsyth C.A. Wheeler
Styles: Illustrations Landscapes Paintings Portraits Rivers Still Lifes Watercolors

Kosciusko County
Marion County

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Paul Randall was born on September 28, 1879 in Warsaw, IN to John A. Randall, an actor. He was married to Ethel Hoover in 1921 after his first wife, Mabel Schildmeier, and their son, Paul Jr., passed away in 1918. As a youth he ran away from home and traveled the Atlantic on a sailing ship. Later, he served as an apprentice in an architect’s office at the age of fourteen. Once he joined the military and was serving in China, he became fascinated with tattooing and would later go on to become a commercial tattoo artist when he returned to Chicago.

Once back in Indianapolis, he worked for Cole Motor Company as a skilled mechanical retoucher and also did work for the Indianapolis Engraving Company. During that time, he worked in the day and attended the John Herron Art Institute at night. There he studied under William Forsyth and Clifton Wheeler. Eventually he had a studio in Indianapolis and sold much of his work through Herman Lieber, a well-known gallery, framer, and supply store in Indianapolis, where his wife also worked.

Randall was best known for his impressionistic Indiana landscapes, with snow scenes being his favorite subject in particular. As a landscape artist, he was a strong advocate of walking. As a walker of eight to ten miles at a time, he believed that it was necessary as a landscape artist in order to study nature more closely. He also enjoyed experimenting with pigments to produce new effects.

He was a charter member of the Indiana Artists’ Club, the Brown County Gallery Association, and the Indiana Artists Association, of which he was a member of the board of directors. Additional memberships included: Oriental Lodge No. 500 for 28 years, the Scottish Rite, and the Murat Shrine. He had also been traveling to Brown County since 1920, where he and his wife had a cabin. It was there on May 19, 1933 (after a 28 year career) that he died suddenly due to a heart attack while cutting grass.

Indianapolis Star, April 22, 1945, “Paul Randall Landscapes Are Viewed In One-Man Show” by Lucille E. Morehouse; Indianapolis Star, May 19, 1933, Obituary; IMA Library Artist Files