Tom Schenk Oil on Canvas Figural Beach Scene Signed in lower right Tom Schenk & Dated 1959. Early in his artistic career, Schenk worked as a commercial artist; he designed theater posters, billboards, and greeting cards. In Washington D.C., he met the cartoonist, C. K. Berryman, who advised him to roam the United States for at least 10 years, working in many places and asking a lot of questions. His subsequent travels took him to Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and to New York City, where he studied at the Art Students' League. One of the etchings he did while at the League, entitled "The Fo'c'sle", was purchased for the institution's permanent collection. During the Great Depression, Schenk lived the life of a hobo, hopping freight trains and living in hobo jungles across the United States. In 1933, while a student at Goshen College, Schenk drew a sketch of Christopher Dock, the early Mennonite educator in Pennsylvania. In 1963 he completed a painting of Dock that hangs at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Some years later, Schenk designed a Coca-Cola advertising spectacular for Columbus Circle in New York City. During a tour of New England in 1970, the Schenks decided to move to Southwest Harbor, Maine, on Mount Desert Island, lured by the area's natural beauty and the wealth of painting subjects. One of Schenk's early Maine paintings, The Clamdigger, hung for a time in the office of the late Senator and Secretary of State Edmund Muskie. Overall Size: 18 3/8 x 22 3/8 in. Sight Size: 15 1/2 x 19 5/8 in. #5916