With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
Walter O. R. Korder
Education/Curation, Painting/Drawing
1891 – 1962
Korder painted WPA murals, taught for many years in the New Britain and West Hartford Art Leagues, and was known for his management of the Bushnell Park nativity scene.
- Biography/Description of Work
Walter Korder was born in Germany and immigrated with his parents at eighteen months of age to the US, settling in Hartford. He attended local schools and classes at the Hartford Art Society. He received one of four scholarships awarded in the U.S. to attend the Royal Academy in Munich, Germany. After graduating, he returned to work with his father in interior decor. During World War I he painted portraits of “buddies” in the First Battalion, Adjutant General’s Office in Washington, D.C. During the WPA, he was an assistant administrator in the Hartford office, and painted murals, including for Charter Oak Elementary School and Town Hall in West Hartford. He also supervised the creation of the famous Hartford Nativity Scene composed of larger than life figurines set up first in December 1938, and he oversaw its assembly in Bushnell Park every year thereafter for a couple decades. Korder was a respected art teacher running art classes at various art leagues in the Hartford area, notably including the West Hartford and New Britain Art Leagues. He exhibited his works widely. He was a member of the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, a charter member of the Connecticut League of Art Students, and member of the West Hartford Art League.
- Sources view
- Sources: WPA Artist’s Work Card; AskART; “Hartford Public Buildings Richly and Lastingly Adorned As Uncle Sam Becomes Nation’s Most Lavish Art Patron,” Hartford Courant, July 1, 1934; Elizabeth W. Wolcott, “Nativity at Bethlehem; A Traditional Biblical Scene is refitted for Bushnell Park,” Hartford Courant, December 12, 1854; “W. O. R. Korder Dies, Portrait Artist, Teacher,” Hartford Courant, March 23, 1962.
- Associated Resource(s)