Oliver Clyde Burnette

Clyde Burnette, age 89 died on April 22, 2013. He was born in Florence, South Carolina
on November 4, 1923 to Clyde and Frances Burnette. Clyde received a Fine Arts degree
from William and Mary College before entering the Air Force during World War II. After
he served in the Air Force, Clyde attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. This is
where he met the love of his life, Pauline Josephine “PJ” Normandin, his wife of 66
years. He majored in illustration while PJ majored in fashion design. They moved to
Providence, Rhode Island for three years before finally ending up in Atlanta, Georgia in
1950.

Clyde’s career spanned over 70 years, the first 47 years in advertising, magazines,
newspapers, billboards and photography. He worked for Burke Dowling Adams/ BBDO
over a 40 year span, which included 20 years of free-lance work. One of his major
accounts was Delta Airlines. He painted over 12, 000 pieces of commercial art in that
period of his career. He returned to his love of painting after he retired from his
advertising career.

Clyde was a multi-faceted artist and began winning prizes early in his life at state fairs.
He painted his first oil painting for his mom at 8 years of age and has been painting ever
since. Clyde won over 20 national awards in oil and watercolor and he painted over 100
paintings and 198 portraits in his life. He became an expert in serigraph with fifteen of
his paintings, was the first president of Atlanta’s Professional Artist Association,
published a book on the female body, and even had an animation studio early in his
career. He made the Top 50 in American Artist five times, has been a Member of
Excellence of the Portrait Society of Atlanta, and a member of the Portrait Society of
America.

His paintings will be cherished for many years, residing in colleges, universities,
insurance companies, law firms, religious organizations, churches, hospitals, and in
many homes. Today some of his paintings reside at the Booth Western Art Museum, in
Cartersville, Georgia, including the portrait of Sam Booth.
Clyde was not only a great artist but a very devoted husband and father. He is survived
by his son and daughter-in-law, Clyde Edward and Kathy Burnette; his daughter and
son-in-law, Paula and Mike Puhr; his son and daughter-in-law, David and Claire
Burnette; his grandson and wife, Christian and Laura Kaufman, and his two beautiful
great-grandchildren, Roland and Marguerite. Services will be held at 10:00 am in the chapel on May 10 at the Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 4465 Northside Drive NW Atlanta, GA 30327.
Donations in his memory can be made to the Portrait Society of Atlanta.