Samuel Walter

Samuel Walter received a B.A. from Haverford College, and a M.M. and M.M.A. from the Yale School of Music. Throughout his graduate and undergraduate degrees Samuel studied with renowned teachers such as Paul Watkins and Aldo Parisot, and soloed with numerous symphony orchestras. During his time at Yale University Samuel has established himself in New Haven as a commissioned portrait and still-life artist. He has received portrait commissions from presidents, professors and administration at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Swarthmore College, Haverford College, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University. In 2021 Samuel was awarded 2nd place in the Portrait Society of America's Future Generation award and in 2022 received the Select 50 award in the Portrait Society of America's International Portrait Competition. Samuel has also been featured in the Art of the Portrait, International Artist Magazine and the American Art Collector. 

Currently, Samuel Walter is working on an initiative titled “Portraits of New Haven,” that combines interviews with residents of New Haven with alla prima portrait sittings. The series of taped sessions provides an opportunity for residents of the city not only to have their portrait painted (an opportunity usually only afforded the wealthiest in society), but also gives them a chance to tell their story and give their opinions on issues facing New Haven. 

In painting portraits, Samuel tries to capture the personality of the subjects through choices in texture, color, lighting and level of detail. In some of my portraits he creates dark, smooth and subtle backgrounds with layers of glazes. In others he creates bold impasto textures, layering contrasting colors with the palette knife. It is remarkable how faithfully rendered realism, with slight alterations, can accurately capture an individual's personality and state of mind.

* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 16^th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.