C.A. Seward (American, 1884-1939)

Big Pines – Raton Pass, 1926

Woodcut on paper, 12 Ѕ x 14 7/16 in.

Wichita Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Milburn

1965.9

            C.A. Seward who was born in Chase, Kansas, was one of the key figures in the development of artists and art institutions in Wichita. He organized exhibitions, wrote articles, taught and helped to found such groups as the Wichita Artists’ Guild, the Wichita Art Association, The Wichita Art Museum and the Kansas Federation of the Arts.

            Seward studied commercial design at Washburn University in Topeka and painting with Biger Sandzйn at Bethany College in Lindsborg. In his position as art department head at such Wichita printing companies as Southwest Advertising Company, the Capper Engraving Company and the Western Lithograph Company (1923-1939), he set high standards for commercial art in this community. Seward’s fine art prints were also widely admired and he was a founding member of the Prairie Print Makers group.

            Living so close to the Southwest, Seward found the art colonies and land of New Mexico to be logical and welcome resources of artistic inspiration. His principal subjects were the Kansas plains and the deserts and mountains of New Mexico.