John "Will" Vawter (American, 1871-1941) was born in Virginia in 1871. A landscape painter known for his loose, Impressionist style, Will Vawter was raised in Greenfield, Indiana and began his career as an illustrator. His first assignments were for James Whitcomb Riley, a successful poet who was also a resident of Greenfield.

Vawter and his wife of two years moved to Brown County, Indiana in 1908, and for the next fifteen years, he worked on magazine illustration assignments. In 1923, he divorced and moved into a small apartment in downtown Nashville, from where he became more involved in oil painting. In 1925, he exhibited and won the prize for best winter scene at the first Hoosier Salon exhibit. He also exhibited at the Brown County Art Gallery Association.

Member

Hoosier Salon; Chicago Gal. Assn.; Brown County Art Gal. Assn.

Exhibited

Marshall Field Gal., 1925 (prize); Hoosier Salon, 1935 (prizes); Nashville Gal., 1935 (prize).

Work

Indianapolis Mus. Art ("Barnes Cabin on Owl Creek, Brown County").

Resources

WW40; Gerdts, Art Across America, vol. 2: 273 (with repro.); WW 400 Years of Artists in America 3400.