Walter Edmonds (artist)

Walter Edmonds
Born(1938-04-21)April 21, 1938
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJune 12, 2011(2011-06-12) (aged 72–73)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Known forMuralist, printmaker

Walter Edmonds (April 21, 1938 – June 11, 2011) was an American artist best known for the 14 murals he painted with Richard J. Watson for the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

Biography

Walter Edmonds was born in April 21,1938,[1] in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[2] Originally, trained as a Chef at Edward W. Bok Technical High School, he began his career in the restaurant industry. Realizing his passion for the visual arts as a young adult, he began to immerse himself into his love for painting. He attended Philadelphia College of Art, Fleisher Art Memorial, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.[2]

In the early 1970s, the Church of the Advocate, a center of activity for the civil rights movement in North Philadelphia, commissioned Edmonds and fellow parishioner Richard Watson to paint murals for the interior of the church. They were requested to portray a combination of Black history and themes from the bible. The two artists were active in the Church of the Advocate and they donated their time to create the murals. Fourteen murals were completed from 1973 through 1976. Titles include "Creation", "I Have a Dream", "The Lord smote the firstborn in the land of Egypt", and "God has chosen the weak to confound the strong".[3][4]

Edmonds' work was included in the 2015 exhibition We Speak: Black Artists in Philadelphia, 1920s–1970s at the Woodmere Art Museum.[5] His work is in the collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.[6] His papers are in the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives.[1]

In 1966, Edmonds was among a group of young Black artists and students chosen to exhibit at William Penn Memorial Museum in Harrisburg by the mayor’s Committee on Human Relations. Others included Moe Brooker, Barbara Bullock, Charles Pridgen, Percy Ricks, Ellen Powell Tiberino and Leroy Johnson.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b "Edmonds, Walter 1938- in Art & Artists Files in the Smithsonian Libraries' Collections". Smithsonian Libraries' Collections. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Naedele, Walter F. (June 18, 2011). "Philadelphia artist Walter Edmonds, 73". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  3. ^ "Church of the Advocate Murals". Association for Public Art. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  4. ^ "Murals". Church of the Advocate. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  5. ^ "We Speak: Black Artists in Philadelphia, 1920s-1970s". Woodmere Art Museum. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  6. ^ "Walter Edmonds, "Langston" (ca. 1989)". Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. December 6, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  7. ^ "Contemporary Negro in Art Show". Philadelphia Tribune. February 8, 1966. p. 6. ProQuest 532559300.