Biography

Frank E. Buffmire was born in Wisconsin and grew up in the town of Oconomowoc. He attended the Layton School of Art in Milwaukee. He joined the Park Service in 1947 and worked there until his premature death in 1963. After Buffmire's death, his wife Dorothy Chatfield Buffmire became a serious photographer, writer and editor, employed by the National Park Service.

Critical Analysis

Buffmire painted a mural for the Black River Falls Post Office in 1939. After the war he gained a reputation as an artist in Wisconsin with his marine watercolors. His paintings were sold at Abercrombie & Fitch and at retail outlets in Madison, Wisconsin. Later, working with the Park Service, he completed dioramas for the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and for the Custer National Military Park in Montana. He spent a decade as Chief Exhibits Designer for the Park Service, where he led the development of new exhibits and new display methods.

Murals

• Black River Falls, Wisconsin - Post Office: Lumbering - Black River Mill

References

1. Frank Buffmire (20th century) (ask ART).
2. Frank E. Buffmire: Duck Pond (George Glazer).
3. Frank E. Buffmire: Lithograph (invaluable).
4. Photographer, Writer Dorothy Buffmire, The Washington Post June 21 (2005).
5. THE MUSEUM BRANCH, 1947-1964 (Museum Curatorship in the National Park Service 1904-1982).