Lyric Poetry (1896). Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.

Henry Oliver Walker (1843–1929) was an American painter and muralist. He painted figures and portraits, but is best known for his mural decorations. His works include a series of paintings honoring various poets for the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.; and decorations for the Appellate Court House in New York; Bowdoin College in Maine; the Massachusetts State House in Boston; the Court House in Newark, New Jersey; and the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul.

Walker was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 14, 1843. In the 1870s he was a student of Leon Bonnat at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. After returning to the United States, he lived briefly in Boston, then moved to New York and set up studios there and at his summer home in Cornish, New Hampshire.

In 1884, Walker exhibited two portraits at the Boston Art Club, and in 1885 he exhibited another portrait.

In Cornish he was part of the "Cornish Arts Colony" that included such artists as Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Maxfield Parrish, Thomas Dewing, Louis St. Gaudens, Charles A. Platt and Kenyon Cox.

In 1888 he married Laura Marquand, a textile designer and decorative artist. He became a member of the National Academy of Design, New York, in 1902.

Gallery

Portrait of an Unknown Bearded Gentleman. Oil on canvas, 1886

Detail from Laura Marquand, future wife of the artist, c. 1887

External links

• HenryOliverWalker.com
• Boston Art Club
• Information on his historic home
• About the Cornish Arts Colony