Donald Teague; Dean of U.S. Watercolorists

Donald Teague, considered the dean of American watercolorists whose career spanned seven decades, has died. He was 94.

Teague died Friday of natural causes at his home in Carmel, where he had painted for more than 40 years.

A native of Brooklyn, Teague studied at the Art Students League of New York and got his first job lettering subway car advertising cards for $15 a week.

In the 1920s and ‘30s, he drew and painted illustrations for major magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post, Collier’s, McCall’s Magazine and Woman’s Home Companion.

Even then, Teague began to establish a reputation in watercolor and exhibited regularly at annual shows sponsored by the National Academy of Design and American Watercolor Society.

By the 1950s, as the market for magazine illustrations waned, Teague switched full time to fine arts. He painted his local scenery--Cannery Row, Pebble Beach, Carmel Valley and Big Sur--as well as scenes from his many trips to Europe, the Middle East, South Africa and Asia.

He was one of a dozen artists featured in a Public Broadcasting System series in 1982 called “Profiles in American Art.” In 1984, he received the Benjamin West Clinedinst gold medal from the Artists’ Fellowship in New York.

Pepperdine University honored him a few years ago with a doctorate in fine arts. He also received lifetime achievement gold medals from the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City and the Society of Illustrators in New York.

Artists of America, a group based in Denver, designated him artist emeritus and dedicated its most recent show to him. A biography, “Donald Teague--a Life in Color,” was published in 1988.

His work has been exhibited throughout the United States and in England, France, China, Japan, Mexico and Australia.

“I’m the luckiest person I know,” he frequently told his family. “To think I could be allowed to make a living at what I love best.”

He is survived by two daughters, Linda Teague Key and Hilary Teague Kitch, and three grandsons. His wife, Verna, died in 1985.

A memorial service is scheduled at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Church of the Wayfarer, Carmel.

His family has requested that any memorial donations be made to the Artists’ Fellowship, 47 5th Ave., New York, N.Y. 10003.