20 North Gallery Presents “Walter Chapman Centennial: Celebrating a Career in Art”

July 31, 2012 - PRLog -- 20 North Gallery Presents “Walter Chapman Centennial: Celebrating a Career in Art”
Watercolor exhibition at downtown gallery marks regional artist’s 100th birthday

Toledo, OH— July 26, 2012.             20 North Gallery proudly presents “Walter Chapman Centennial: Celebrating a Career in Art”, an exhibit of the vibrant watercolors of the regional and highly-collected artist Walter H. Chapman.  This exhibit covers several decades of his life-long career and celebrates his upcoming 100th birthday in December. The exhibition will run from Thursday, August 9 – Saturday, September 8, 2012.  A public reception for the exhibit will be held Thursday August 9, 2012, from 6 – 9p.m., in conjunction with the downtown Art Walk.

The “Walter Chapman Centennial” exhibit comprises over fifty watercolor paintings, representing local and international landscapes, along with recognizable architecture portrayed in Chapman’s distinctive and celebrated style.  
 
Walter H. Chapman (b. 1912) attended Cleveland Art School and John Huntington Polytechnic Institute in Cleveland, Ohio as well as Art Students League in New York City.  He also studied figure painting with Jon Corbino, portrait painting with Rolf Stoll and landscape painting with Carl Gaertner.

Working in oil, watercolor and other media, his work includes portraiture, landscapes and illustration.  In addition to his fine art work, Chapman has enjoyed a lengthy teaching career as well as serving as an art juror, demonstrator and lecturer.

Chapman was awarded a Bronze Star for combat art during World War II.  His renderings were later published in “The 84th Infantry Division: the Battle of Germany” by Lt. Theodore Draper (1946, Viking Press).  Throughout his career, Chapman has won numerous first place awards at shows affiliated with Watercolor USA, Salmagundi Club, Mainstreams International, Grumbacher and Toledo Federation of Art Societies.  He is listed in Who’s Who in America Art, Who’s Who in the Midwest, Who’s Who in the World and Prize Winning Art.  He was honored with a 50-year retrospective show at the Toledo Museum of Art and the Zanesville Art Center in 1988.

Nationally, Chapman’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Springfield Museum of Art in Missouri; the Southwest Museum of Art in Sun City, Arizona; Brown University Library in Providence, Rhode Island.  In Ohio, his works can be found in the permanent collections of the Canaday Library of The University of Toledo; the Zanesville Art Center; and the City of Sylvania.

He is a member of Allied Artists of America, Watercolor USA Honor Society, Ohio Watercolor Society, Ohio Realists, Northwest Ohio Watercolor Society and Toledo Artists Club.  He is also a member of the prestigious Tile Club of Toledo.  

Chapman and his wife, Jean, operated the Chapman Art Gallery in Sylvania for over 32 years.  Chapman’s home studio in Sylvania is celebrated by the city as a historical point of interest in the community.

(Walter Chapman biography adapted from information supplied by www.alliedartistsofamerica.org)

In addition to the “Walter Chapman Centennial” exhibit, 20 North Gallery exhibits works by their contracted artists including: Tom McGlauchlin, David J. Eichenberg, Kimberly Arden and Kelly Sheehan, among others—as well as charcoal and Conté drawings by John Swihart, stepson of Walter Chapman.

20 North Gallery will be welcoming friends and collectors at the free Public Reception on Thursday, August 9th, from 6 – 9p.m. Visitors to 20 North will enjoy light refreshments and the opportunity to meet and speak with Walter Chapman and his family.  

To view a virtual tour and online exhibit ion catalog of “Walter Chapman Centennial: Celebrating a Career in Art”: visit www.20northgallery.net  (The website posting begins August 9, 2012.)

What: “Walter Chapman Centennial: Celebrating a Career in Art”

Where: 20 North Gallery, 18 N. St. Clair Street, (Downtown) Toledo, Ohio 43604, 419-241-2400

When:   August 9 – September 8, 2012
Exhibit Hours:
Wednesday – Saturday:
Noon – 4 p.m.
and By Appointment

Free Opening Reception — Thursday August 9, 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.

For More Information Contact: Eric Hillenbrand (Owner) or Peggy Grant (Art Director) at 419-241-2400, or visit www.20northgallery.net
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