WOODBURY – Christopher Ogden Clapp, age 80, died of respiratory failure while in hospice care on Christmas Day, 2022.
He was a creator and admirer of beautiful things. His artistic prowess, which first appeared in his childhood in Woodbury, was thoroughly encouraged by his parents, Reeb and Polly Clapp. He graduated from Kent School, class of 1960, received his B.A. from Williams College (where he was a founding member of the rugby team), and earned his MFA in painting from the University of Pennsylvania.
The lessons learned throughout these many school years (academic or otherwise) were pristinely preserved in Christopher’s exceptional mind. Wisdoms and anecdotes were readily recalled, bolstering his reputation as a brilliant puzzle solver and luminous raconteur.
Though he relished his time as an illustrator for Taunton Press, his lifelong passion was for landscape painting. Christopher’s work, which was displayed in more than 60 gallery exhibitions, was a testament to his love of the natural world and, occasionally, to the love of his chocolate labs.
His paintings of Grand Cayman show the azure water in which he enjoyed scuba diving (once encountering an octopus featured in what was among his more colorful anecdotes). His paintings of Lake Quassapaug show the Connecticut views he so often took in with lifelong friends.
It was in nature, he said, that he experienced his most beloved moments of transcendence.
He was predeceased by two wives, Lorraine Schechter and Susie Hilfiger. He is survived by his brother Jonathan (Kathy); his sister Heston; nephews Elijah (Annabel) and Jacob (Mike); grandnephew Benjamin and niece Millie (James).
To those so moved, Christopher’s family requests donations in his name to the Washington Art Association.
David Macpherson
I recently found this obituary for Chris:
WOODBURY – Christopher Ogden Clapp, age 80, died of respiratory failure while in hospice care on Christmas Day, 2022.
He was a creator and admirer of beautiful things. His artistic prowess, which first appeared in his childhood in Woodbury, was thoroughly encouraged by his parents, Reeb and Polly Clapp. He graduated from Kent School, class of 1960, received his B.A. from Williams College (where he was a founding member of the rugby team), and earned his MFA in painting from the University of Pennsylvania.
The lessons learned throughout these many school years (academic or otherwise) were pristinely preserved in Christopher’s exceptional mind. Wisdoms and anecdotes were readily recalled, bolstering his reputation as a brilliant puzzle solver and luminous raconteur.
Though he relished his time as an illustrator for Taunton Press, his lifelong passion was for landscape painting. Christopher’s work, which was displayed in more than 60 gallery exhibitions, was a testament to his love of the natural world and, occasionally, to the love of his chocolate labs.
His paintings of Grand Cayman show the azure water in which he enjoyed scuba diving (once encountering an octopus featured in what was among his more colorful anecdotes). His paintings of Lake Quassapaug show the Connecticut views he so often took in with lifelong friends.
It was in nature, he said, that he experienced his most beloved moments of transcendence.
He was predeceased by two wives, Lorraine Schechter and Susie Hilfiger. He is survived by his brother Jonathan (Kathy); his sister Heston; nephews Elijah (Annabel) and Jacob (Mike); grandnephew Benjamin and niece Millie (James).
To those so moved, Christopher’s family requests donations in his name to the Washington Art Association.