Millard R. Judd Sr. (1911-1983) American, Floral Watercolor. Signed and dated lower left, Millard Judd '72. Short newspaper clipping (obituary) taped to back. 

Overall Size: 31 1/8 x 39 in. 

Sight Size: 20 1/4 x 28 in. 

#2835 . 

Millard Ray Judd Sr. was born in Monterey, Tennessee in February, 1911. One of nearly a dozen children, he had no exposure to art and limited education in his youth, working long hours daily on the family farm. The Great Depression led to the collapse of the family plot and he eventually wound up serving in the Merchant Marine for two years, beginning in 1930. His work took him mainly around the Florida Peninsula, and he became enamored with the coastline and the unique wildlife and vegetation of the barely-tamed state. When he left the service he took whatever work he could find, winding up as an assistant to a tile installer working on new homes in the land-locked town of Starke, Florida. He met Freda Burnhan while on the job and married her in 1934, having a son, Millard Ray Judd Jr., in 1940. Although he attempted to serve in World War II, he was deemed in poor health due to injuries he had sustained first in the Merchant Marine and later in the tile business. In the late 1950s he worked alongside his son and eventually opened his own company with him, Judd Tile Company. In 1966 a major injury forced him to become essentially a silent partner in the company, and he found himself extremely bored of early retirement. Encouraged by his wife, who had heard about the sights he’d seen in the Merchant Marine, he took up sketching and painting, both in watercolors and oils. Despite being self-taught and starting so late in life, Judd Sr. possessed a stunning knack for creating crisp, clear, vibrant landscapes and seascapes, mainly portraying Central and Northern Florida, and continued to pursue art until his death by heart attack while visiting Cedar Key, one of his favorite subjects, on June 10th, 1983.