Walter Raymond Garver (American, 1927-2023) was a Buffalo resident and one-time student of Charles E. Burchfield (American, 1893-1967), Walter had been both a recipient of countless honors and a subject of numerous publications. Among the collections including his work are the Burchfield-Penny Center in Buffalo, NY and the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, OH.
The hard-edged style of many paintings, together with the artist’s fondness for industrial scenes, placed him in the tradition of Precisionist painters like Scheeler, Crawford, or Demuth. Here sharp tonal contrasts, precise delineation of forms, and abrupt juxtaposition of planes push the images outside the boundaries of realism and "freeze" them in nearly abstract designs. But style for Garver was always a function of purpose. In his other paintings the artist adopted a more traditional modeling technique, focusing the light source, and provided us images of luminous realism.
Education: Completed 60 hours of graduate study in Art History, Education and German, State University of New York at Buffalo, received BFA. Studied with Charles E. Burchfield (American, 1893-1967).
Experience:
1958-1985: Teacher of Art History, Drawing, Painting and Photography, Chairman of Art Department Amherst Senior High School, Snyder, NY.
1996-present: Watercolor Magic Magazine, Contributing Editor; Artist’s Magazine, Contributing Editor.
One Man Shows: Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY; Chautauqua Art Gallery, Chautauqua Institution, NY; Hall of Art, New York City, NY; More-Rubin Gallery, Buffalo, NY.
Selected Exhibits and Awards:
1967- Buffalo Society of Artists National Exhibition (Gold Medal).
1971- Chautauqua National Exhibition (Bellinger Award). Buffalo Society of Artists National Exhibition (Gold Medal).
1973- Cooperstown Art Association Annual National Exhibition (Grand Prize). Chautauqua National Exhibition (Bellinger Award).
1975- Cooperstown Art Association Annual National Exhibition (Grand Prize).
1982- Oklahoma Art Center Painting & Sculpture Annual Exhibition (First Place). Buffalo Society of artists annual Exhibition (Gold Medal). Chautauqua National Exhibition (Bellinger Award). Buffalo Society of Artists Annual Exhibition (Gold Medal Prize).
1992- Mid-Atlantic Regional Watercolor Exhibition (Annapolis Watercolor Club Award). Audubon Artists Annual Exhibition (Gold Medal of Honor).
1994- Allied Artists Annual Exhibition (Gilmore & Romans Memorial Award). Batavia Society of Artists National Exhibition (Grumbacher Gold Medal).
2001- Niagara Frontier Art Exhibit, Kenan Art Museum (First Place), Lockport, NY. “Needing No Introduction”, Oxford Gallery, Rochester, NY. Niagara Frontier Art Exhibit, Lockport, NY. 66th Regional Exhibition at Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, NY. 65th Annual Cooperstown Art Association National Exhibition, Cooperstown, NY. 58th Annual Audubon Artists Exhibition at Salmagundi Club, NYC. Audubon Artists Annual Exhibition (Silver Medal of Honor).
2002- Two Person Exhibit, Oxford Gallery, Rochester, NY. “In the Present Tense”, Oxford Gallery, Rochester, NY.
2003- “Realism’s Allure”, Burchfield-Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY.
2013- April 27-June 1, exhibited, group show, Annual Theme Show "The Four Humors", Oxford Gallery, Rochester, NY, with the Artists' Reception Saturday May 4 from 5:30-8pm.
2023- September 8, passed away at the gae of 96 at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, Buffalo, NY and was buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery, Cheektowaga, NY.
Memberships: Allied Artists of America; Audubon Artists; Buffalo Society of Artists; Copley Society of Boston; National Watercolor Society.
Publications: Who Was Who in American Art, 1564-1975, Peter Hastings Falk (Editor), 3 Volumes, 1999; The Best of Oil Painting, ed. Nicholas and Terelak, Rockport, 1996; Encyclopedia of Watercolor Landscape Technique, Hazel Soan, Quarto, 1996; Splash, North Light Books, 1991; Painting Hands, Figures & Faces, Angela Gair, Quarto, 1991; Painting Buildings, Hazel Harrison, Quarto, 1991; Creative Landscape Painting, Edward Betts,Watson-Guptill, 1978; Creative Color, Wendon Blake, Watson-Guptill, 1972.
Collections: Arnot Museum, Elmira, NY; Burchfield-Penny Art Center, Buffalo, NY; Butler Institute, Youngstown, OH; Cincinnati University, Cincinnati, OH; Minnesota Museum, St. Paul, MN; Pennsylvania University, Philadelphia, PA; Hyatt Regency, NY; Xerox, NY; Numerous private collections in Canada and U. S.
(Source: With permission from James E. Hall, Oxford Gallery, Rochester, NY; Portrait image, Buffalo Society of Artists.)
