Ardis Hughes

Ardis Hughes passed away at the Samantha Wilson Care Center on Jan. 4, 2009, one day after his 97th birthday. He was born on Jan. 3, 1912, in Rhinebeck, N.Y. From an early age he was absorbed in art. Upon graduation from Pratt Institute in 1934 he went to work for the Esquire publications. Serving in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1946 and based in Washington, D.C., he created war bond posters, among other assignments. The Army also sent him to Paris. His pictorial documentation of the life of a soldier based there is in the Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection at Brown University. War bond posters are also in the New York State Military Museum. After a career in commercial art during which he apprenticed with Saul Tepper, he devoted himself to fine art, winning many prestigious awards, among them the gold medal in watercolor from the National Arts Club. He was also a member of the American Watercolor Society. As an artist he traveled widely, always including Paris in his itinerary. For many years he spent the winters in Spain and the summers in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. For the past 10 years he has been wintering in St. Augustine, where he could be seen painting the buildings and scenes that made the city so famous. He was predeceased by his brother, Roger G. Hughes, and his nephew David Hughes, both of Oneonta, N.Y. He is survived by his sister-in-law, Nella Hughes of Oneonta; a niece, Joan Duckwall (Larry) of Oneonta; a nephew, Roger W. Hughes (Patricia) of Ballston Spa, New York; and their children and grandchildren. Funeral services and burial will take place in Oneonta, N.Y. Bookkhout Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.