Photos by Edmee CR Hasler.
Edmee CR Hasler
Contributing writer
Ed Smith has been captivated by Walter Biggs and his art for many years. “I was involved in an art gallery as an absentee owner about 40 years ago, and I also follow certain artists, and one of those artists is Walter Biggs,” Smith said. After acquiring some of Biggs’ artwork, Smith began to wonder if any pieces had been published in magazines. This curiosity led him down numerous rabbit holes until he finally discovered a magazine called “Physical Culture.” “It was a magazine published from about 1900 to 1940 that promoted health and exercise,” he explained.
During that era, “publishers were out there looking for artists to produce wonderful artwork because photography wasn’t prevalent at that point in time. And even black and white was more prevalent than color,” Smith continued.
Flipping through the magazine reveals the vast range of Biggs’ artwork. These pieces were assignments from publishers and editors. “I’m sure this was an instance where publishers would say something like, ‘please put something together that ties into the storyline that we are getting ready to publish.’ Many times, there would be 15-18 pieces of original artwork in one publication,” Smith said.
“He was so dedicated to his craft that people said he was married to his easel. Producing that amount of artwork on tight deadlines is phenomenal,” Smith remarked.
His fascination grew as he acquired more of Biggs’ works. “What started as a general interest turned into a hobby, and honestly, became an obsession,” Smith admitted.
A significant part of Smith’s interest in Biggs’ work is their shared hometown. “This is an artist from Salem, Virginia. He lived and grew up on Boulevard Street in Salem. He spent most of his childhood there and later most of his adulthood after moving to New York. He started at Virginia Tech to become an engineer but soon realized art was his true passion. After showing his work to publishers, they encouraged him to pursue art in New York,” Smith said.
“He was just a phenomenal artist and I really don’t know that Salem knows how prolific and how much his work was published in all the national magazines that were there,” Smith said. “So that’s my obsession, my interest in art along with how we let the City of Salem, and maybe the region know, what kind of an artist he was. He is one of the very few illustration artists elected to the Illustration Hall of Fame,” Smith continued.
“Norman Rockwell was the first person elected to the Illustration Hall of Fame. Walter Biggs was the fifth person, I believe, to be elected as the embodiment of some of the well-known, recognized, and collected artists across the country,” Smith explained.
Smith’s research often began on the internet. “The internet is a valuable source of information, but then you do a great deal of reading on his biographies. Maybe a biography said that one of the magazines he was published in was ‘Ladies Home Journal.’ So, then I would find in the archives the ‘Ladies Home Journal,’ then just go through magazine after magazine, after magazine looking at the table of contents to see if he were among the artists that were published in those magazines,” Smith recounted.
“He did a great deal of paintings for advertising groups, where he may advertise Ivory soap or something like that. So, I would go and find publications of people that have gotten awards for the ads that they produced, and Walter was in many of those. So, I would go through those books and find out if he won any awards and if so where was that image published, then I would go and try to find that magazine,” Smith said.
“It’s been a good year and a half of hundreds of hours trying to find these magazines. I have to say I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. It’s not just the joy of finding his work. I enjoy reading the magazines that were produced. I likened it to this way: The Industrial Revolution produced a lot of different things that helped society out there, but I think from 1900-1950 was the convenience revolution where you would see how washing machines may sell more than a car does. It’s just among the different articles that were in the magazines, so I enjoyed that part of it also,” Smith said.
“It’s a treasure hunt. So far, I’ve been able to acquire 500 magazines that have his artwork in it. So far there’s been a little over 1,050 original pieces of art that we’ve been able to locate that he’s produced,” Smith said.
Walter Biggs’ work can be seen in several museums, including The Taubman Museum of Art and The Salem Museum. “Many of his works are in Olin Hall at Roanoke College because later in life, he became the artist in residence at Roanoke College,” Smith said.
Smith’s plan for his collection of magazines is to donate them to museums that have Walter Biggs’ artwork. He has also cataloged the works into a website he created: WalterBiggsart.com. “I’ve developed what I believe to be a very good website that has all of these 1,050 pieces of artwork that others can look at. So that’s the sharing of it. It’s not just to have it for me and my dusty little collection back there but to give it to the general public and let them see what an accomplished, prolific, extraordinary artist Walter Biggs was,” Smith said.
