Walter Matia earned degrees in Biology and Art Design at Williams College in Massachusetts. Much of his training was attained during a long apprenticeship in the Exhibits Department of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. After leaving the Cleveland Museum, Walter worked for 11 years with the Nature Conservancy, a national non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of endangered species and unique habitats. He served as the organization’s vice president in charge of land management. He began casting bronze sculptures in 1980. Initially, he concentrated on bird life. Over the years, he has worked on sporting dogs and other wildlife. He began a series of large fountain and garden pieces in 1987, and two years later, the Blair House Restoration Committee placed one of his fountains in the formal garden of the United States President’s Guest House. To complement the fountain, Walter produced a bronze wall frieze for the Blair House in 1992. His works have been exhibited in one man shows at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art. He is a regular participant of the Society of Animal Artists, National Sculpture Society, Masters of the American West, Coors Western Art, and the Prix de West Invitational. Walter is a Fellow of the National Sculpture Society, a Master Signature Member of the Society of Animal Artists, and a Master Wildlife Artist at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. He has received the National Sculpture Society Gold Medal Award, the Bronze Medal Award Pietro & Alfriedo Montana Memorial Prize, the Society of Animal Artists Leo J. Meiselman Award, the Prix de West Fraser Sculpture Award, the Masters of the American West Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation Sculpture Award, and James R Parker Trustee Purchase Award. His sculptures have toured with various shows to dozens of museums both in the United States and abroad. Major commissions include: the Wichita Kansas Botanical Gardens, Benson Park Sculpture Gardens, American University, Deerwood Office Park, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Merrill Lynch corporate regional offices, NFL Houston Texans Reliant Stadium, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, The Fried Farm, the Bird Dog Hall of Fame, and Gonzaga College High School. Walter currently serves on the board of the American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester, VT and the American Bird Conservancy in The Plains, VA. He resides in Dickerson, Maryland with his wife Dr. Pamela Matia, daughter Helen, son Charlie and two dogs Molly and Belle.