Paul Hubbard, the hobo artist, blasted through Montreal at least twice, the first time in 1917, on a train and the next time, in 1957, in his hand-painted automobile.
At every town he hit, he tried to get media attention with his fast-painting act and frequently succeeded, as there were at least 10 articles written about him.
He'd try to sell paintings of landscapes or pictures of your dog or cat for anywhere between $1 and $10.
In Montreal he told a local reporter that a hobo is a working migrant, a tramp is a non-working migrant and a bum is neither, he's just a sponge.
He said he had gone coast to coast 63 times.
Hubbard was born in Bowie, Texas in 1892, served as a private in WWI (but not that long if indeed he came through Montreal in 1917) and never married, however he traveled around with Polly Ellen Pepp, whom he called his "famous hobo-ette".
Newspapers loved reporting on Hubbard and National Geographic reportedly did a piece on him sometime in 1937 or 1938. And fittingly, when he died, he was waiting to go on a TV interview about life as a hobo.
One story he didn't tell much was quite gruesome.
He was driving around in a new station wagon, which was hit by a train near Sunnyvale California in January 1947. His sister Lucia Richardson, 67, Myrtle Edmans, 64 and nephew Walter Hubbard, 20, an army corporate all died. Paul's nephew Normand survived as did Paul whose leg was amputated after the crash.
Hubbard died January 10, 1963, in Little Rock, Arkansas.
I remember seeing this fellow. How could one forget !
ReplyDeleteActually just around the same time as I saw him, there was another similar type character who came to Montreal, but by bicycle from someplace very far away. I think I saw both of these celebrities around the same time at the Shamrocks Market. Very colorful guys who were the forerunners of the people we now see on TV reality shows. . . only, they did it on their own.
Kind of nice that they might be remembered. They were small ships that passed in the night.
My name is Martin Abrahams. That little boy in the picture of Paul Hubbard and his beautifully painted car is me. I am presently 67 Years old (I'm writing this on April 5, 2017) and live in Houston Texas. I remember the moment when the picture of me with Mr. Hubbard was taken. He was a wonderful man that gave me lessons in painting and wonderful stories about life. He made three gigantic murals in my dad's house while he lived with us.
ReplyDeleteI'LL NEVER FORGET PAUL HUBBARD. To talk call me at 281-924-5151
My name is Martin Abrahams. That little boy in the picture of Paul Hubbard and his beautifully painted car is me. I am presently 67 Years old (I'm writing this on April 5, 2017) and live in Houston Texas. I remember the moment when the picture of me with Mr. Hubbard was taken. He was a wonderful man that gave me lessons in painting and wonderful stories about life. He made three gigantic murals in my dad's house while he lived with us.
ReplyDeleteI'LL NEVER FORGET PAUL HUBBARD. To talk call me at 281-924-5151
I am a descendant of Paul Hubbard. I would love to see any artwork of his.
Deletehttps://thebrooklyncollection.tumblr.com/post/93442086807/self-styled-hobo-artist-paul-hubbard-an/amp
DeleteI have a couple of pieces of Paul Hubbard's work inherited from my grandfather. One very large painting and also a table with a painting all the way around. Paul visited my grandfather a couple of times and I have several articles on him as well. I have never had any of them appraised. I enjoy the artwork as they feel like Florida to me. I live in Southern Ontario Canada.
ReplyDelete