Sign in or create a free account to curate your search content.
West Virginia’s art began with practical works like maps and crafts, then grew to include portraiture, landscapes, and sculpture. In the 20th century, modernists, glass designers, and filmmakers expanded the scene, leading to arts centers, museums, and a late-century folk arts revival that continues today.
Here are some of West Virginia's notable artists.
This Martinsburg native was an artist, writer, soldier, and leader. He studied art in New York and Europe and became famous for his detailed book illustrations. Writing as "Porte Crayon," he created popular travel stories for Harper’s Magazine tha...
When this Parkersburg native was 12, she helped Union soldiers during the Civil War by showing them land to camp on. She became known for painting animals and flowers and worked hard to support the arts. In 1887, she started the Parkersburg Art So...
Anshutz was a leading American realist painter who often used West Virginia scenes. Born in Kentucky, he lived in Wheeling from 1868 to 1872. He studied in New York and later led the painting department at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts...
This Grafton native was one of America’s first famous female photographers. She studied art in Paris and New York, and then opened a portrait studio in Washington, D.C. in 1894, one of the first run by a woman. Johnston took pictures of factory wo...
This Berkeley County native was best known for painting the Old West. He studied art in Maryland and Germany. After returning to the U.S., he worked as an illustrator in New York and painted scenes of West Virginia. In 1906, he traveled to New Mex...
This photographer from Blacksburg, Virginia, traveled around West Virginia for nearly 40 years taking pictures of towns, family gatherings, church groups, schools, including these coal miners at Clifftop (Fayette County).He used a special camera c...
This Jefferson Couty native painted, made prints, and studied art history. She trained at top schools such as the Corcoran Gallery and the Art Institute of Chicago. After World War I, she traveled and studied art in Europe, including with Fernand ...
This Fairmont native studied sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he met his wife, Mabel, who was also a sculptor.In 1933, Torrey created a small bronze statue called Lincoln Walks at Midnight, shown at the 1939 World's Fair. A bigger ...
This Wheeling photographer started his own studio in 1909 and became the top portrait photographer in the city. Kossuth took pictures of many famous people who passed through Wheeling, including musician/composer Leopold Stokowski, who hired him a...
This Monongalia County native studied art at West Virginia University and later in New York City and Paris. Lazzell was one of the first American artists to use Cubism and helped start the Provincetown Printers, known for color block prints. Durin...
Aegert was a photographer from Helvetia (Randolph County). His parents, Swiss immigrants Gottfried and Marianna Aegerter, came to the area in 1885. Gottfried, a farmer and amateur photographer, taught Walter the craft. Together, they built a studi...
This Pocahontas County native studied sculpture in Washington and Philadelphia, where she learned from Albert Laessle, a sculptor who focused on animals. Since Tuke loved horseback riding, she often sculpted horses.In the 1930s, Tuke started worki...
Born on a farm in Monroe County, Jones worked in railroad construction for 46 years before retiring and starting to make folk art, known for his hand-carved and painted wood sculptures. Discovered in 1972, Jones made smooth, colorful sculptures of...
This Morgantown native studied at West Virginia University and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. She often visited Provincetown, Massachusetts, where she learned from famous artists and showed her prints.Taylor created many paintings, prints,...
Born near Wheeling, Dungan became a famous filmmaker after traveling the world. He studied in Paris and at the University of Southern California, then spent 15 years in India making movies, documentaries, and World War II training films. Later, he...
This photographer was born in Germany and moved to West Virginia as a child. As a teen, he lived in an artist colony in Preston County, where he started taking photos of local scenes for postcards. Even First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt became a fan of...
Dorothy Thompson was born in Pennsylvania but grew up in Monongalia County. Her father, a coal miner and skilled woodworker, made her first loom when she was 10, teaching her old European weaving methods. During the Great Depression, her family mo...
This Charleston-born artist and teacher studied at West Virginia State College (now University) and Boston University, and earned her Ph.D. at age 72. Hardman taught art for 30 years and worked with fabric and ceramics. Her art was shown in galler...
This folk artist from Elkview (Kanawha County) served in the Marines during World War II before becoming a Methodist minister. Hayes loved carving and became a master at it, creating detailed wooden figures, often with tiny people stacked or in sp...
Gaylord was a sculptor from Clarksburg and a World War II paratrooper. After the war, he studied art and worked as a stonecutter before opening his own studio. He is best known for creating The Column, a group of 19 large steel soldiers that make ...
This Huntington native was an important abstract painter who taught art at Marshall University for 30 years and inspired many others. Her paintings were emotional and spiritual, even though they were abstract—they didn’t show real people or things...
This German-born sculptor moved to West Virginia in search of a simple life and good wood for carving. He and his wife, Maria, built a home in Upshur County, and he became known for his wooden sculptures that showed both strong and smooth lines, r...
Ripper was a wildlife artist from Huntington. His detailed paintings appeared on nearly 100 magazine covers, 80 U.S. stamps, books, puzzles, and more.Born in Pittsburgh, Chuck grew up with parents who loved art and nature. At 19, he had his first ...
This Parkersburg native was known for his realistic paintings of birds and animals. After serving in the Air Force and studying art, he left advertising to focus on painting.In the 1990s, he painted scenes of Colonial Williamsburg and notable golf...
This self-taught Kanawha County native carved stone and wood. After leaving the Army in 1955, he started carving headstones and then bigger sculptures. He made his own tools from old car parts.Some of his best-known works include a bear statue at ...
This Massachusetts native's career spans nearly 70 years. She started art classes as a child and studied theater and design before moving to West Virginia in 1956.In Charleston, she worked full-time but also designed stage sets for local theaters ...
This Bluefield native was known for his photos of West Virginia’s nature and people, which appeared in magazines such as Life and National Geographic. He learned photography at West Virginia University and served as an Army photographer. After the...
This Charleston native was inspired by West Virginia’s endless natural beauty. She first studied history but found her passion for art after taking lessons to help with postpartum depression. She learned from well-known artists while raising four ...
This Charleston-born sculptor studied art and served in the army. He worked in urban planning and led several arts organizations in West Virginia. Mullins designed the West Virginia Veterans' Memorial (pictured), which was finished in 1999. The me...
Binder is a dancer, artist, teacher, and woodcarver who has spent more than 40 years inspiring others through the arts in West Virginia. She grew up in Washington, D.C., where her mother introduced her to music, theater, and ballet. After studying...
This Pennsylvania native has lived in Charleston since she was a baby. She's known for her close-up paintings of plants and flowers. Starting with watercolor, she later switched to oil on canvas, creating large, detailed images that show every lea...
This Baltimore native studied art at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn College,the Skowhegan School, and the Art Students League of New York. He worked in New York City, including at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and helped start The First Street Galler...
This Gassaway native works with many materials. After serving in Vietnam, he studied art at West Virginia State College (now University). His art often shows a strong connection to his home and features nature such as herons, catfish, mountains, a...
This New Jersey native moved to West Virginia in 1977. After serving in the Navy, he studied art and became known for his bold colors, strong lines, and a unique style he called "new world primitivism." His work included paintings, prints, murals,...
This Cedar Grove (Kanawha County) native Cedar Grove is known for colorful, textured paintings that blend mountain landscapes with mystical symbols. She studied at West Virginia University and developed her unique style using oil sticks on paper. ...
This New York City-born sculptor lives in Sutton. He started carving wood and stone but now mainly works with bronze, crystal, and metal. His sculptures appear in many places, including hospitals and courthouses. Some of his more prominent works h...
This Charleston native started college as a pre-law student but switched to art, graduating with honors from Marshall University in 1973. He earned a master of Fine Arts degree from the University of North Carolina in 1976.After school, Snyder ope...
This Spencer native is a world-renowned blacksmith known for turning steel into art. He learned the craft in the 1970s from his future father-in-law and started in a small barn. Over the years, he's created gates, railings, tables, and his signatu...
This Exhibit has 56 Sections