From 1900 to 1937 a far different structure, the residence of Jerry and Laura Dunham Crary, stood on the site where the Crary Art Gallery now stands. It was one of the largest homes in Warren and was built in the Italian Renaissance style, with a broad front porch facing Market Street and a portico on its north face. The only remaining artifact of that residence is carriage house to the west of the gallery on Sixth Avenue.

The current structure was built in 1962 as the Stuart J. Myers family home, following the general plan of a Roman villa. The Myers home was purchased in the early 1970s by the photographer Clare J. Crary and his painter wife Gene Alden Walker Crary. They intended this interesting structure to be an art gallery. Unfortunately Clare passed away in 1975 before the dream could be realized, but his wife opened The Crary Art Gallery two years later with a memorial exhibition of works by her photographer husband. After Gene's death in 1988, the Board of Directors opened further galleries in the building: the Oriental room, the Crary-Dunham Room and the Fountain Room.

In 1997, following a series of exhibits by guest artists, the gallery blossomed further. The northeast walled garden was transformed into the Sculpture Court with the installation of a glass ceiling. The grand re-opening in 2000 featured works by sculptor Marion Sanford, Gene's friend and fellow alumna of the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York. These pieces remain at the gallery on extended loan from the Warren County Historical Society and Warren General Hospital. In addition to these sculptures and the permanent collection (including photographs by Clare Crary and Edward S. Curtis, paintings by Gene Walker Crary, and paintings and prints they collected), visitors today can see temporary exhibitions by contemporary artists, mounted for the pleasure and education of the community.

Clare J. Crary (1879 - 1975)

Clare was born in Sheffield, Pennsylvania, one of four children of Jerry and Laura Dunham Crary. Following education at Worcester Academy, Clare graduated from Amherst College in 1901. In 1902 his parents moved from Sheffield to their new home at 511 Market Street (site of the Crary Art Gallery). Clare met and married Irene Horton of Brooklyn, New York in 1906, and they moved to 211 Fifth Avenue in Warren. In 1910 "CJ" (Clare's nickname) and Irene moved again to a newly-constructed residence at 508 Liberty Street, where they raised three sons.

Irene died in 1941. In 1943, CJ married Gene Alden Walker who, with Marion Sanford Sleeman, had been maintaining an art studio in a remodeled chicken coop dubbed "Stepping Stones", on the Sleeman farm.

As an accomplished photographer and juror of photographic exhibits, CJ exhibited his work in salons in the United States and abroad. He founded The Pictorial Society of America and was elected a Fellow of The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain. His memberships included The Oval Table Society, The Pittsburgh Salon, The Pictorial Photographers of America and The Camera Club of New York.

At the time of his death, CJ was Chairman of the Board of Warren National Bank and Vice President of The Pennsylvania Furnace and Iron Company. The numerous civic organizations in which he was deeply involved, some of which he founded or co-founded, and in most of which he held office, included The United Fund, The Warren Foundation, Northern Allegheny Conservation Association, Warren Library Association, Warren County Chapter of The American Red Cross, YMCA, Warren State Hospital, Struthers Library Building, and Boy Scouts of America.

Gene Alden Walker Crary (1898 - 1988)

Born in New Albany, Indiana, the elder daughter of Herbert Graham and Clara Perry Walker, Gene was a direct descendent of John and Priscilla Alden, "America's First Couple".

She studied art and graduated from the Pratt Institute, followed by study at the National Academy of Design with Charles Hawthorne, N.A. and the studio of Jerry Farnsworth, N.A. She exhibited widely, received many awards, and is represented in the National Academy of Design's permanent collection and a number of private collections. Gene was a member of The Grand Central Gallery of Art, Audubon Artists, Allied Artists, The National Arts Club, The National Association of Women Artists, and the Pen and Brush Club.

In the early 1920's Gene and Marion Sanford Sleeman set up a studio they dubbed "Stepping Stones", on Liberty Street Extension in Warren. After Marion's departure to New York City, Gene also maintained a studio at The National Arts Club for 15 years.

When Gene and Clare Crary married, the loft over the Crary family's carriage house (still standing) became her studio. Their travels in the United States and abroad inspired Gene's painting and CJ's creativity as a photographer. Though her works reflect several subjects such as streetscapes, landscapes, figure and flower studies, Gene Walker Crary is best remembered for her portraits in oil which garnered most acclaim.