About The Gay Philosopher and Henry Major

So…what’s the deal with the Gay Philosopher?
And just who was this artist Henry Major?
I’ve been collecting images of Henry Major’s character The Gay Philosopher for twenty years plus or so. I’ve found them at yard sales, flea markets, thrift and antique stores, and now on EBay. They were not at all common to find but common enough to make me wonder about the history of this character. Who was Henry Major? What’s the story? In these prints I would see The Gay Philosopher at the circus or in the kitchen or just loafing around. He was never directly hawking anything but always had a wink and a word of wisdom. The first picture of The G.P. I found had a tag on the back which read “Why Worry?”. Indeed. Each time I would find a new piece i’d quiz the owner to see if they knew anything about the character or the artist but no one ever knew a thing. I searched the internet. Nuthin’. Zip. Finally after building this website the answers began to trickle in. My first break came when I saw a painting for sale on Ebay by an artist named…Henry Major! The resemblance of the man in the painting to The Gay Philosopher was undeniable. I contacted the paintings owner, art collector Robert Zeider. I, of course , had no idea that Henry Major had done any paintings outside the style of The G.P. and Mr.Zeider had no idea idea his painting was by the same artist that created The Gay Philosopher. Mr.Zeider informed me that “Henry Major is listed in Who’s Who In Art and in Davenport’s. He is associated most strongly with New York City. He exhibited at The Marie Harriman Gallery as well as The Corcoran Gallery Biennial and at The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in the 1940’s. According to records at The P.A.F.A the painting exhibited by Henry Major in 1941 was titled The Philosopher.” Bingo! Thank You Mr.Zeider! I knew from a couple of the pieces i’d collected that Brown and Bigelow ,a company that makes promotional items for businesses made many different G.P. related items. I took a chance and emailed the folks at B and B. A couple of days later I received an email from Teresa Roussin, Archivist for Brown and Bigelow. Ms.Roussin told me that she had some info about Henry Major and would mail it to me. What Ms. Roussin was kind enough to send me is a copy of a program for “Memorial Exhibition: Paintings by the late Henry major. The exhibition was held at Mortimer Levitt Gallery,559 Madison Avenue New York N.Y. March 6 through March 25. The year is not given however the bio inside the program is dated 1950. Ms.Roussin also told me that “Henry major only painted the Philosopher from 1945 to 1952 and there were only about ten paintings. The Gay Philosopher series was continued by a in-house B&B artist named Clair Fry. Mr.Fry did the series from 1953 to 1973. They were produced on a poster calendar, direct mail blotters, greeting cards,postcards, playing cards, glassware, and also the (metal and chalkware) busts.” Ms.Roussin also told me that she couldn’t think of any other products she had seen The Gay Philosopher on but there could be more. After learning that Mr.Fry took over the production chores of The G.P. I started to search for info on Clair Fry but found none. Oddle enough, not long after my search for Clair Fry I was contacted by a woman whose mother, Carol Guy, is Clair Fry’s daughter. Mrs.Guy kindly agreed to recount for me her rememberances of Henry Major. In her letter to me she described Henry Major as:

“…a gentle and quiet man with a gentle and quiet sense of humor -directed mainly at himself-evidenced by his G.P. series. It started as a caricature of himself…” “He had the kind of looks that could have gone a few years plus or minus. He was about 5’10” and maybe 170lbs. Slight strands of silver in his dark hair. Melancholy eyes that could twinkle from time to time and a very soft voice.” “My father (Clair Fry) was responsible for choosing the artists and their subjects and for keeping artists,management and customers happy. Frequently a challenging job -But he loved it and brought some fascinating people into my families lives.” Mrs. Guy told me that ” the times Henry had to come into the twin cities he always stayed with us which is how I got to know and love him.” She did not remember why Brown and Bigelow picked up The G.P. character but that “He started with B and B with The G.P. series in the forty’s. They came a close second to #1 -Norman Rockwell’s Boy Scout and Four Seasons calendars. My father took over the series after Henry’s death. (B and B) had tried several artists and dad’s strength being in capturing a likeness plus his strong feeling for Henry put him in the spot where nobody could come close. So he did it until the calendar business as it was, died in the 1970’s. The only way you could tell if (a G.P. illustration) was a C.V. Fry or a Henry Major is that dad said out of respect for Henry he would not sign any thing that he did.” Mrs.Guy also wrote that “I don’t think Henry ever did anything other than art as a living other than some “survival” type jobs” “He lived in around Provincetown (Massachussets) on the cape. My understanding is it was, and still is I guess, an artist’s colony. He is supposed to be buried in a small cemetary in the dunes. Now that I think about it i’m sure it is quite lonely there. There can’t be anyone around to take care of it.” “Henry Major was and will probably continue to remain a mystery when it comes to his personal life. Oh, but what a lovely man he was!”

Mrs.Guy suggested I contact the newspaper in Provincetown and see if they might have any info on Henry Major. I did just that and the Editor of the paper put me in touch with their Art Director Sue Harrison. Ms. Harrison was kind enough to send me a copy of the obituary of Henry Major.

And so end’s the story…so far.
My deepest thanks to Carol Guy for sharing her memories of Henry major and to her husband and daughter who put us in touch. A big Thank-You to Robert Zeider, Theresa Roussin, Zach Trenholm and to all the kind sellers on Ebay who have been and continue to be so very generous in sharing their images of the Gay Philosopher.

I’d also like to thank all the nice folks who have emailed me their compliments and stories of what their Gay Philosopher pictures have meant to them or a loved one.

Henry Major may not be famous but his best known work has lived on and has brought a smile and a wink to countless folks and that’s something! THANK YOU!

If you know something about Henry Major or The Gay Philosopher or if you have any images of Henry Major’s paintings or of The Gay Philosopher that you would be willing to share i’d love to hear from you. If you will let me add your images to my site i’d be happy to credit you on the page for it and add a link to your web site.