Boyer Gonzales Jr. Art

Boyer Gonzales Jr, a noted painter and teacher in Texas was born in Galveston, Texas and raised in family homes in both Galveston and Woodstock, New York. He attended Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, and in 1931 graduated with a degree in architecture from the University of Virginia. During the summers while at the university, he studied with his father in Woodstock. After graduation, he returned to Woodstock and studied under Henry Lee McFee and Yasuo Kuniyoshi. He also assisted Yasuo Kuniyoshi in his classes. In 1937, he returned to San Antonio to assist McFee in establishing the Witte Memorial School of Art. He taught at the school until 1939 when he accepted a position at the University of Texas in Austin. In 1941, Gonzales taught at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. From 1942–45, Gonzales served in the United States Army Air Corps. In 1946, he was appointed assistant professor at the University of Texas. From 1947–48, he was chairman of the art department. In 1954, Gonzales accepted a teaching position at the University of Washington, Seattle and Director of the Henry Art Gallery at the university. He served as chairman of the art department from 1954–66. In 1975, he received the Governor's Award of Special Accommodation. In 1979, he retired as professor emeritus. Gonzales died in Bellevue, Washington, in 1987.