The Swing, NY Visual Artist, Stephen H. Booker

Stephen H. Booker
1933-2016Stephen H. Booker was an African-American, born in Norfolk, Virgina. He graduated from high school in 1951, and attended West Virginal State College where he graduated in 1954. Booker was a visual artist most of his adult life. His paintings are in many private collections worldwide. He began exhibiting in New York City in 1959. His first solo exhibition was in 1961. Booker studied at the Art Students League, Pratt University’s Graphics Center, and the New York School of Visual Arts. He won several awards in recognition of his paintings and original prints in the 1960s-1970s.In 1970 he moved his studio to Plattsburgh, and soon became a participant on the North County Art Scene. A group of his paintings were included in an exhibition of nine painters working in Adirondack area at the Meyers Fine Art Gallery. About the same time his agents began expanding his exhibitions in other parts of the country. He was past president of the Clinton Country Arts and Crafts Association and in the early 1980s he helped organize several of their exhibitions and street fairs in Plattsburgh.  He was a member of the Council of the Arts of Clinton County and participated in its annual exhibitions. His first solo exhibition with the Council was in 1984, and another in 1994.
He was also a member of the New York Artist Equity Association, the Northern Vermont Art Association, The Artist Circle, and co-founder and officer of the Visual Arts Network. Stephen H. Booker died on March 23, 2016 in Plattsburgh, NY.