Martha Walter was an American impressionist painter.
Education
A Philadelphia native, Walter attended Girls High School.
She studied art at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art (now the University of the Arts College of Art and Design) from 1895-98 and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia.
She was taught by William Merritt Chase. She won the school's Toppan Prize (1902) and Cresson Traveling Scholarship (1908).
In 1909 she also won the school's Mary Smith Prize for the best painting by a resident female artist.
Career
Using the Cresson scholarship she traveled to Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and France.
In France, she received tuition from Rene Menard and Lucien Simon at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière.
Walter had a show at the Galleries George Petit in Paris in 1922. The French government purchased one of her works titled "The Checquered Cape".
She was lauded in her early career for her "intimate portrayal of little children" in paintings such as "The Picnic" and "A Parasol Tea", which were noted particularly for her use of color.
In the 1930s, Walter traveled to North Africa and began to paint the market places of Tunis, Tripoli and Algiers.
The African sun offered a different lighting than her usual scenes in America and France.
After returning to New England, she set up a studio in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where she often painted beach scenes. She went on to teach art at Chase's New York School of Art.
She often lived with one of her sisters, and sometimes traveled in the summer with Alice Schille, who she had met as an art student.
Her estate was purchased in the late 1960s by the David David Gallery of Philadelphia.
Walter continued working until a few years before her death in 1976 at age 99.
Recognition
Walter's 1922 painting The Telegram, Detention Room (Ellis Island) was included in the inaugural exhibition of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, American Women Artists 1830-1930, in 1987.
Retrospectives showcasing her work include Martha Walter, at the George Thomas Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TN in 1953; Martha Walter, Hammer Galleries, New York, NY, in 1974-1975; and Impressionist Jewels: The Painting of Martha Walter, A Retrospective, at the Woodmere Art museum in 2002. | © Wikipedia
Istruzione
A Philadelphia nativo, Walter ha frequentato Girls High School. Ha studiato arte al Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art (ora University of the Arts College of Art and Design) dal 1895-98 e alla Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia.
È stata studente di William Merritt Chase.
Ha vinto il Premio Toppan della scuola (1902) e la borsa di studio Cresson Travelling (1908).
Nel 1909 vinse anche il Mary Smith Prize della scuola per il miglior dipinto di un'artista residente.
Carriera
Usando la borsa di studio Cresson ha viaggiato in Spagna, Italia, Paesi Bassi e Francia. In Francia, ha ricevuto lezioni da Rene Menard e Lucien Simon presso l'Académie de la Grande Chaumière.
Walter tenne una mostra alle Galleries George Petit di Parigi nel 1922.
Il governo francese acquistò una delle sue opere intitolata "The Checquered Cape".
È stata lodata all'inizio della sua carriera per il suo "ritratto intimo dei bambini piccoli" in dipinti come "The Picnic" ed "A Parasol Tea", che sono stati notati in particolare per il suo uso del colore.
Negli anni '30 Walter si recò in Nord Africa ed iniziò a dipingere le piazze del mercato di Tunisi, Tripoli ed Algeri. Il sole africano offriva un'illuminazione diversa dalle sue solite scene in America e Francia.
Dopo essere tornata nel New England, ha aperto uno studio a Gloucester, Massachusetts, dove dipingeva spesso scene di spiaggia.
Ha continuato ad insegnare arte alla Chase's New York School of Art.
Viveva spesso con una delle sue sorelle e talvolta viaggiava d'estate con Alice Schille, che aveva conosciuto quando era studentessa d'arte.
La sua tenuta è stata acquistata alla fine degli anni '60 dalla David David Gallery di Philadelphia.
Walter ha continuato a lavorare fino a pochi anni prima della sua morte nel 1976 all'età di 99 anni.
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