Clarence Milo Queen, 74, auto mechanic and sculptor

CLARENCE QUEEN was a man of many talents. He could restore an antique car, remodel a house, sing professionally and make unique sculptures that won prizes.

Clarence used his knowledge of auto mechanics and auto restoration to create sculptures out of auto parts and other discarded material, which were exhibited in Philadelphia and New York City galleries.

"I fell in love with his art when I first saw it," said Marilyn Kai Jewett, who worked with Clarence to promote his art. "I had never seen anything like it. Clarence was a very unique sculptor."

Clarence Milo Queen, whose father and grandfather were also artists, was a singer whose repertoire ranged from doo-wop to gospel, a community activist and a loving family man. He died June 17 at age 74 and lived in Germantown.

Clarence's career in art actually began when he was just 5. He helped his adoptive father, John D. Queen, and grandfather, John G. Queen, create floats for Mummers clubs for the annual New Year's Day Parade.

He attended the Philadelphia Art Museum School for Children, the Fleisher Art Memorial and participated in young-artist exhibits at the Art Museum and the John Wanamaker department store.

He was born in Philadelphia to Jeanette Woolfolk and Clarence Harris. When Clarence was 3, his mother married John D. Queen, who adopted him and raised him as his own. He attended the Edward Bok Technical High School.

He married Carolyn Cato in 1961, and they started a family. He attended the J.F.K. Technical Institute to learn auto-body mechanics and later taught at the school.

As a young man, Clarence worked at places like Paul Bros Auto Body, in Philadelphia. He specialized in restoration of classic and antique cars.

"If a part wasn't available, Clarence would fabricate it," his family said. He eventually opened his own shop in Germantown, where he continued to restore classic and antique cars, many of which won top prizes at various competitions.

In his early 20s, Clarence sang with Little Heart & the Everglows, a doo-wop group. Later in life, he enjoyed performing at karaoke clubs, and also sang with the Philadelphia Harmonizers, a gospel group.

In the 1970s, Clarence owned and became the featured artist at the Gallery, in West Philadelphia.

"The Gallery soon became the place for Philadelphia's black glitterati to meet and be seen," his family said.

In 1980, Clarence made the decision to devote himself to art. "He combined his expertise in auto restoration to create beautifully striking work in what is called 'found art,' " his family said. "His sculptural masterpieces with auto parts and other discarded materials are nothing less than ingenious."

Clarence became a member of the Ile Ife Artists Consortium that was directed by his father in association with Arthur Hall's Ile Ife Black Humanitarian Center.

He participated in the annual MARCFEST, curated by his father and produced by the Minority Arts Resource Council. Clarence won the grand prize in MARCFEST Expressions '81.

The same year, he formed a partnership with Marilyn Kai Jewett, owner of Progressive Images Marketing Communications, to promote his work. Through her marketing expertise and his father's guidance, Clarence began to get exhibition opportunities in Philadelphia and elsewhere.

The exhibitions included the Cheltenham Art Center, Philadelphia Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum Wanamaker's and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts festival at the William Penn State Museum, in Harrisburg.

He also took his work to New York City, where he exhibited at the Cinque Gallery, at 36 W. 62nd St. He became one of the gallery's featured artists as the result of a sold-out, one-man show, Clarence Queen: Adventures in Metal.

"They loved his work at the Cinque Gallery and offered him a one-man show," Jewett said. "When we got to the opening reception, the entire show was already sold out. They asked us to bring more pieces the next week.

"One piece, Hopscotch, was displayed in the gallery's window. A business owner passing by saw it, was stricken by its beauty and bought it on sight."

Clarence was also a participant in the Sag Harbor, N.Y., Art Exhibit each summer, and won commissions from several collectors.

Using skills he learned as a teenager working with his grandfather in construction, Clarence purchased houses to renovate. He and his daughter, Leslie, would go to property auctions and discuss how they could renovate and sell a certain house.

Clarence was a longtime member of the Penn Area Neighbors Association, in Germantown, where he was active in community betterment programs.

His marriage ended in divorce. Besides his daughter, he is survived by a sister, Katherine Harris, five grandchildren and one great-grandson.

Services: Memorial service 10 a.m. tomorrow at May Funeral Home, 4075 Haverford Ave. A repast will follow at noon at Harambee Institute, 638-40 N. 66th St.