“I love sculpting. It piques all my interests. It’s challenging enough to be interesting and intellectual enough to be worth doing.”

Born 1953, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Resides in Dickerson, Maryland, USA

Walter Matia was educated at Williams College in Massachusetts, where he earned degrees in Biology and Art Design. Much of his training was attained during a long apprenticeship in the Exhibits Department of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

After leaving the Cleveland Museum, Walter worked for eleven years with the Nature Conservancy, a national non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of endangered species and unique habitats. He served as the organization’s vice president in charge of land management. He began casting bronze sculptures in 1980. Initially concentrating on bird life, over the years he has worked on sporting dogs and other mammals.

He is a Fellow of the National Sculpture Society; a Master Signature Member of the Society of Animal Artists; a Master Wildlife Artist at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum and a Hall of Fame Honoree at the Gilcrease Museum. Walter is a regular participant at the Masters of the American West, Los Angeles, CA, Coors Western Art, Denver, CO and the Prix de West Invitational, Oklahoma City, OK. He has received numerous awards including the National Sculpture Society Gold and Silver Medals and the Pietro & Alfriedo Montana Bronze Medal; the Society of Animal Artists Leo J. Meiselman Award; the Society of Animal Artists Award of Excellence; the Prix de West James Earle Fraser Award and Major General & Don D. Pittman Wildlife Award; the Masters of the American West, Kenneth T. & Eileen L. Norris Foundation Award and James R. Parks Trustee Purchase Award; the West Select, Phoenix Art Museum, Silver and Gold Medals, the National Museum of Wildlife Art Red Smith Award and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Spirit Award.

His sculptures are included in the collections of the Thomas Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK; Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI; Buffalo Bill Historical Society, Cody, WY; Briscoe Western Art Museum, San Antonio, TX; Wichita Kansas Botanical Gardens, Wichita, KS; Benson Park Sculpture Gardens, Loveland, CO; National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson Hole, WY; Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH; Bird Dog Hall of Fame, Grand Junction, TN; NFL Houston Texans Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX; Gonzaga College High School, Washington, DC; American University, Washington, DC and the United States President’s Guest House, the Blair House, Washington, DC.

Collections

The Wendell Gilley Museum – Southwest Harbor, ME
The Holden Arboretum – Cleveland , OH
The Benson Park Sculpture Gardens – Loveland, CO
The Garden Conservancy – Cold Spring, NY
The Laurel Foundation – Pittsburgh, PA
The Richard King Mellon Foundation – Pittsburgh, PA
The Blair House, The Presidents Guest House – Washington, DC
The Conservation Fund – Arlington, VA
The Nintendo Corporation – Kyoto, Japan
The B.F. Goodrich Corporation – Akron, OH
The Deerwood Office Park – Jacksonville, FL
The Arnov Corporation – Montgomery, AL
The Merrill Lynch Corporation – New York, NY
The American University – Washington, DC
The Hiram Blauveldt Art Museum – Oradell, NJ
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History – Cleveland, OH
The Nature Conservancy – Arlington, VA
Merle Thorp Charitable Trust – Thurmont, MD
South Alleghanies Museum of Art – Loretto, PA
The Hermitage Art Museum – Norfolk, VA
The Wichita Botanical Gardens – Wichita, KS
The Akron Metropolitan Parks – Akron, OH
The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum – Wausau, WI
Brookgreen Gardens – Murrells Inlet, SC
Fleisher Museum – Scottsdale, AZ
The National Museum of Wildlife Art – Jackson Hole, WY
NFL Houston Texans, Reliant Stadium – Houston, TX
Thomas Gilcrease Museum – Tulsa, OK
American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog – St. Louis, MO
Olde Towne Pet Resort – Springfield, VA
The Conservation Fund, Holly Beach – Annapolis, MD
The Henry Ferguson Museum – Fishers Island, NY
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Center – Oklahoma City, OK
Heidelburg College – Tifen, OH
Eastern Shore Art Ctr, City of Fairhope Public Art – Fairhope, AL
The Cleveland Zoo – Cleveland, OH
Memphis Botanic Gardens – Memphis, TN
The Fried Farm – Crozet, VA
The Autry National Center – Los Angeles, CA
Gonzaga College High School – Washington, DC
The Bird Dog Hall of Fame – Grand Junction, TN