Figures on the Boardwalk

One of Philadelphia’s noted painters, Walter Stuempfig was a highly regarded teacher at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts from 1948 to 1970. In a period when many contemporary artists increasingly turned towards abstraction, he painted in a realistic style rooted in the academic tradition. Many of his paintings represent figures in urban or leisurely settings, such as the beach along the New Jersey shore where he spent his summers. This two-sided drawing of figures on a boardwalk relates to his painted beach scenes of Cape May, New Jersey.