Robert Walters (American, 1925-2008)
Born in 1925 in Indianapolis, Indiana, died in 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Walters attended the John Herron Art Institute, Wabash College for Men at DePaul University. After serving on the U.S. Naval Underwater Demolition Team in the Pacific in WWII, he attended the Universidad de Mexico and Mexico City College. While in Mexico, he apprenticed with the muralist Jose Clemente Orozco. Upon return to New Mexico, he received his BFA in 1950 at the University of New Mexico. During this time, he was the studio assistant to the Latvian printmaker Adja Yunkers. He counted among his friends Richard Diebenkorn and Agnes Martin, as well as UNM instructors Enrique Montenegro and Raymond Jonson.
In 1953, he was one of the founders of the Modern Museum in Albuquerque, setting the stage for Albuquerque’s vibrant arts scene. In 1961, Walters became a registered architect and, from 1971-1990, was professor Emeritus at the School of Architecture at the University of New Mexico. Walters traveled extensively in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Mexico, and those travels are widely reflected in his works.
As a young man in the 1950s, Walters was an internationally recognized abstract expressionist. After receiving his degree in architecture in the 1960s, his work increasingly incorporated the architectural elements of a landscape or interior space with figures. His paintings are characterized by bold and vibrant colors with a distinctive nod to the Mexican muralists. His work is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the University of California, Berkeley, and the Mexico City College, Mexico City.