Walter Hatke

Walter Hatke is a Baha'i painter living in Schenectady, New York and teaching at the University. He was born in 1948 in Topeka, Kansas, earned a BA from De Pauw University and both an MA and MFA from the University of Iowa. He has taught at several places including American University, Cleveland; the Kansas City Art Institute; Smith College; Yale and Union College in Schenectady.

His paintings have frequently incorporated Baha'i items (a photograph of the Baha'i World Center in Haifa, Israel, a photograph of 'Abdu'l-Baha walking up Mt. Carmel, Baha'i books, prayer beads, etc.). He paints landscapes, architecture (including interiors), and still lifes, all in super-real and trompe l'oeil styles.

His work can be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Baha'i World Center, De Pauw University, Union College, the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library and many private homes.

Hatke is the recipient of an Artist Fellowship, NEA; Ingram Merrill Foundation Grant; Vermont Studio Center Fellowship; Hassam Purchase Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters.