Barry Atwater (painter)
Encyclopedia
Barry AtwaterBarry Atwater (born in Minnesota
in 1892, died in 1956 was an American
artist
primarily known for painting landscapes of the southwestern United States
. He was the father of actor Barry Atwater
, a rare example of a celebrity's child achieving fame without any benefit from the parent's success.
Atwater grew up in Denver, Colorado
, and settled in Los Angeles
where he worked as an interior decorator. As a hobby he began painting desert landscapes, eventually moving with his wife to a small cabin built for him by advertising executive Ray Morgan on a 2000 acres (8.1 km²) ranch in Dos Palmas, Colorado
. Morgan built the retreat for Atwater so he could live among the scenery he painted. In the 1940s Atwater relocated to Santa Fe
, New Mexico
.
Atwater's paintings are noted for their highly contrasted areas of flat color, suggesting the stark beauty of America's southwestern terrain.
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
in 1892, died in 1956 was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
primarily known for painting landscapes of the southwestern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He was the father of actor Barry Atwater
Barry Atwater
Garrett "Barry" Atwater was an American character actor who appeared frequently on TV from the 1950s into the 1970s...
, a rare example of a celebrity's child achieving fame without any benefit from the parent's success.
Atwater grew up in Denver, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, and settled in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
where he worked as an interior decorator. As a hobby he began painting desert landscapes, eventually moving with his wife to a small cabin built for him by advertising executive Ray Morgan on a 2000 acres (8.1 km²) ranch in Dos Palmas, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. Morgan built the retreat for Atwater so he could live among the scenery he painted. In the 1940s Atwater relocated to Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
.
Atwater's paintings are noted for their highly contrasted areas of flat color, suggesting the stark beauty of America's southwestern terrain.