(1910-1999). Ralph Eugene Cahoon, Jr. was born in 1910 in Chatham, Massachusetts (Cape Cod). A direct descendant of the first Dutch settlers, his father emigrated in the 1660's from Scotland directly to Cape Cod. As a boy he played close to the harbor, fishing, and digging for clams or scallops. The “mermaid” became Ralph Cahoon's hallmark in the 1960s. This was firmly established and his style was definitely his own. Many artists would feel constricted by such a limited choice of subject matter, but Cahoon's creativity within this genre exploded. |