Walter M. Baumhofer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Walter Martin Baumhofer November 1, 1904 |
| Died | September 23, 1987 (aged 82) United States |
| Known for | Illustration, painting |
Walter Martin Baumhofer (November 1, 1904 – September 23, 1987) was an American illustrator notable for his cover paintings seen on the pulp magazines of Street & Smith and other publishers.
Baumhofer's parents immigrated from Germany. His father Henry (Heinrich) came from Oldenburg, his mother Marie from Hanover. He was born and grew up in Brooklyn where his father had become a clerk at a local coffee company and then, in 1918, janitor at an apartment building, a situation which enabled the family to live rent free. Graduating from high school in 1922, Baumhofer went on a scholarship to Pratt Institute, where he studied under Dean Cornwell and H. Winfield Scott.[1] On June 28, 1935, he married to the equally accomplished illustration artist Alureda Leach Baumhofer (b Aug. 20, 1903; d. 1992), nicknamed Rita or Pete. She received a Certificate in Costume and Commercial Illustration from Pratt Institute in 1925, where she met Walter. She was most active with art déco fashion and commercial illustrations in the 1920s and 1930s