Harvey R. Griffiths

(Akron, Ohio, 1883 - 1952, Akron, Ohio)

North America, American

Harvey Griffiths was a key figure in the Akron art community during the 1930s and 40s. He was among the founders of the Akron Society of Artists in 1931. During World War I Griffiths served in the Marine Corps and explored France’s art treasures during leave. Upon discharge in 1919, he returned to Akron and enrolled in night classes at the Cleveland School of Art (now the Cleveland Institute of Art). Griffiths earned his living as a commercial artist, working for Akron's rubber companies while pursuing a fine art practice. In 1936 his work was accepted in the annual exhibition of the American Water-Color Society in New York. In 1938 and 1939 he toured Europe and undertook further studies in Florence and Milan. The watercolors he produced during that excursion were exhibited at the Akron Art Institute. In addition to watercolor, Griffiths worked in oils and produced figure studies, flower paintings and landscapes. He was accorded a memorial exhibition at the Akron Art Institute in 1953.

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