Walter Thomas Sacks (American, 1901-1961) was a painter primarily known for his landscapes, cityscapes, village scenes, marine scenes & harbor views, winterscapes & mountainscapes in oils, watercolors and gouache. Walter was born on October 31, 1901 in Philadelphia, PA, to Walter C. Sacks (1878-1927) and Carrie B. (née Rhine) Sacks (c1882-). In addition to being largely a self-taught professional painter and artist, Walter worked in various careers over the course of his life including; a salesman and a manufacturer of explosives in Le Roy, NY. Walter owned the Sun Sign Studio, Inc. in Rochester, NY and later worked as an advertising manager for the Independent Gas and Oil Company in Rochester, NY, from which he retired in 1957.
Walter painted throughout Western New York, Rockport, MA, and Quebec Canada, and won several prizes & awards during his career. He was a member of Rochester Artist Club (1st Prize 1938 & Prize 1939), Rochester, NY, Fine Arts League of Buffalo (Gold Medal & George Inness Prize), Buffalo, NY, and the Salmagundi Club, NYC. He also supported the Society for Sanity in Art, as well as the Rationalists, who rejected ultra-modern expressionist and surrealist movements of the late 1930’s. These self-declared ‘liberal-conservative’ artists of Buffalo and Rochester, NY, exhibited work
“based on sound knowledge of fundamentals with individual expression.” The Rationalists began exhibiting in 1939 but their combined efforts were short-lived and the group disbanded in the late 1940’s. The Rochester division evolved into the Genesee Artists Group.
Walter married a schoolteacher Ina May (née Richards, 1897-1982) and had one daughter Dorothy Mae Sacks-Nicholls (1928-2004). Walter lived and maintained his studio in various New York cities during his lifetime including; Gates, Rochester and Caledonia. From 1952 on, he resided at 2252 East Lake Road in Conesus, NY, where he died on April 25, 1961, at the age of 59. Walter Sack’s artwork can be found in many private and public collections throughout the United States and Canada.
Chronology:
1901- October 31, born, to father Walter C. Sacks (1878-1927) and mother Carrie B. (née Rhine) Sacks (c1882-), Philadelphia, PA.
1926- September, Walter opened his own business called the “Sun Sign Studio. Inc.”, located at 1151 Genesee St, Rochester, NY.
Circa 1927- Walter married Ina Mae (née Richards, b. Feb. 02, 1897-1982), a schoolteacher in Mendon, NY, daughter of James B. Richards (b. Apr. 1861-) and Elizabeth Richards (b. Sept. 1866-), Gates, NY.
1928- April 30, their daughter Dorothy Mae Sacks was born, Rochester, NY.
1929- Co-incorporated and was one of the directors of the Empire Explosives Corporation who manufactured all forms of explosives including dynamite and gelatins, located in Le Roy, NY.
1933- April, exhibited, group show, “20th Annual Exhibition of the Work of the Artists and Craftsman of Rochester”, Memorial Art Gallery, Main Floor Galleries, Rochester, NY.
1936- Walter was an officer on the control board for the Rochester Art Club, Rochester, NY.
1938- April, exhibited, group show (1st Prize), “56th Annual Exhibition of the Rochester Art Club”, for the painting “Tall Timber”, Art Club of Rochester, Rundel Gallery of the Rochester Public Library, Rochester, NY.
1939- Exhibited, group show (Prize), “57th Annual Exhibition of the Rochester Art Club”, Rochester, NY. October 21-29, exhibited, “First Show of the Rationalists”, in a group show of 65 works, Hotel Statler, Buffalo, NY. The show then traveled to the Rundel Gallery of the Rochester Public Library from November 3-30, Rochester, NY.
1941- April 19-27, exhibited, group show, “2nd Annual Exhibit of the Rationalists”, Fillmore Room, Hotel Statler, Buffalo, NY.
1942- Exhibited, group show, “3rd Annual Exhibit of the Rationalists”, Cayuga Museum, Auburn, NY.
1943- January, exhibited, group show, “4th Annual Exhibit of the Rationalists”, Cayuga Museum, Auburn, NY.
1945- January-February, exhibited, group show, “6th Annual Rationalists Show”, Walter had five paintings shown, Cayuga Museum, Auburn, NY.
1947- October 2-31, exhibited, group show, “66th Annual Exhibition of the Rochester Art Club”, one painting shown titled “Quietude” (Sailboat silhouetted against dark green hills), Rundel Gallery of the Rochester Public Library, Rochester, NY.
1948- Fall, exhibited, group show, The Genesee Artists Group (formerly the Rationalists), Rundel Gallery of the Rochester Public Library, Rochester, NY.
1949- April, exhibited, group show, Museum of Fine Arts, Binghamton Public Library, Binghamton, NY.
1950- February 13-17, exhibited, solo show, Museum of Fine Arts, Binghamton Public Library, Binghamton, NY, and for the show Walter had introduced a ‘new technique’ in art using a thin layer of oil paint while sketching with glazes and blending them with soft-hair brushes on rag paper which produced unusual tonal qualities in color when absorbed into the paper. Saturday, July 8, their daughter Dorothy married Edward Leonard Nicholls (1927-2003), St. Columbo’s Church, Caledonia, NY, with reception at the Sacks home on East Lake Rd, Conesus, NY.
1951- Resided and maintained his art studio at 230 East Lake Road in Conesus, NY.
1952-1961- Resided and maintained his art studio at 2252 East Lake Road in Conesus, NY.
1953- Mid September-Mid October, exhibited, group show, Cayuga Museum of History and Art, Sack’s oil paintings were hung in the North Hall of the museum, Auburn, NY.
1955- Exhibited, group show, The Genesee Group (formerly the Rationalists), Rundel Gallery of the Rochester Public Library, Rochester, NY.
1957- Retired from the Independent Gas and Oil Company in Rochester, NY. April, Walter gave painting demonstrations at the Cortland Free Library, Cortland, NY, the Cayuga Museum of History and Art, Geneva, NY, and for the Waterloo Art Club, Waterloo, NY.
1959- September 13-27, exhibited, group show (Gold Medal Prize), “Fifth Annual Exhibition of the Buffalo Fine Arts League”, for the painting “Lifting Fog”, Buffalo Museum of Science, 60 paintings by 31 artists shown, Buffalo, NY.
1960- September, exhibited, group show (George Inness Prize $75), “Sixth Annual Exhibition of the Buffalo Fine Arts League”, for the painting “The Afterglow” (Winter pond scene just after sunset), Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo, NY.
1961- Died, April 25, Conesus, NY, at the age of 59. His funeral was held at the Alhart Funeral Home in Caledonia, NY, and he was buried in Mendon Cemetery, Mendon, NY.
1982- May 8, Walter’s wife Ina died at the Village Green Nursing Home at the age of 85, Le Roy, NY. November 11-December 8, exhibited, three person show, “Rochester Nostalgia”, paintings & drawings shown by daughter Dorothy Nicholls, Sibley’s store, fourth floor, Rochester, NY.
2004- February 9, their daughter Dorothy Mae Sacks-Nicholls died at the LeRoy Village Green Nursing Home, and she was buried at Mumford Rural Cemetery, Mumford, NY.
Exhibited Also: Various museums throughout New England and the United States; Salmagundi Club, NYC; Solo show in Quebec, Canada.
Memberships/Associations: Rochester Art Club (officer on control board), Rochester, NY; Fine Arts League of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY; Salmagundi Club, NYC; Rationalists (later known as the Genesee Artists Group), Rochester, NY; Society for Sanity in Art.
Prizes/Awards: 1938 (1st Prize) “56th Annual Exhibition of the Rochester Art Club”, for the painting “Tall Timber”, Art Club of Rochester, NY; 1939 (Prize), “57th Annual Exhibition of the Rochester Art Club”, Art Club of Rochester, NY; Gold Medal Prize, “Fifth Annual Exhibition of the Buffalo Fine Arts League”, for the painting “Lifting Fog”, Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo, NY; 1960, George Inness Prize $75, “Sixth Annual Exhibition of the Buffalo Fine Arts League”, for the painting “The Afterglow” (winter pond scene just after sunset), Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo, NY.
Collections: Permanently represented in the Bevier Foundation, Rochester Institute of Technology in the Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY; Rochester Athenaeum, Rochester, NY; Mechanics Institute, Rochester, NY; Auburn Museum of History and Art, Auburn, NY.
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(Written & compiled chronologically by Mark Strong of Meibohm Fine Arts, Inc., East Aurora, NY, meibohmfinearts.com, sources: Too long to list here and are furnished upon request.)
