Monte Crews
Monte Crews was born in 1888 in Fayette, Missouri. Both his father and
mother were descendants of pioneer Missouri families. His father was a
merchant in Fayette and his mother was a cousin of the much-decorated
German painter, Ludwig Knaus (1829-1909). Many of his later
illustrations reflected scenes during his growing up years in the
Fayette area. He attended the University of Missouri for one year
(1905-1906) where he befriended Missouri author, Homer Croy, later
illustrating his first novel, When to Lock the Stable (1914). Crews
enrolled at the Chicago Art Institute in 1906, and studied life-drawing
under Bridgeman. Two year laters he won a scholarship to the Art
Students League in New York where he won the prize for illustration. In
1908 he sold his first cover to Baseball magazine.
He returned to Fayette in 1917 and bought the local motion picture
theatre, which was operated until 1921. Then he devoted full time to
creating and promoting three comic strips, one of which--"The Mysterious
Family Next Door"--was briefly syndicated in about 40 newpapers. But
Crews fell on hard times economically and went to work for an
advertising agency in Kansas City, contributing numerous illustrations
to the Kansas City Star's Sunday supplement. He taught illustration for
nine years at the Kansas City Art Institute, and during this time
contrbuted illustrations to a number of regional magazines as well as an
occasional cartoon to the Saturday Evening Post under the name Will
Carroll.
The painting entitled "Pieing the Type" is owned by Fayette
Democrat-Leader editor, H. Denny Davis, and refers to the old newpaper
practice of hand setting type. A number of images in the painting
clearly relate it to Fayette (take a close look at some of the notices
on the wall of the newpaper office).
The large painting of Daniel Boone and his Sons at Boone's Lick salt
works was presented to the Fayette Area Heritage Association by Givens
Crews, son of Monte Crews and normally hangs at their offices in the
Uriel Wright Building on the square in Fayette. The three magazine
covers were personally selected by Givens Crews for this exhibition from
the extensive collection he owns of his father's original illustations.
( Bob Dyer, Boone's Lick Heritage, Volume 4, No. 3 and 4,
September-December 1996)
