Tony Paterson

Anthony "Tony" Paterson, age 87, passed away on Sunday, September 11, 2022, at the Home of The Good Shepherd in Saratoga Springs, NY, with his family at his side.
 

He was born on December 17, 1934, in Albany, NY, to Ralph and Mary Rose (Flanigan) Paterson, and he grew up in Defreestville, a hamlet of North Greenbush, NY.
 

Tony was an award-winning, nationally-acclaimed sculptor whose primary medium was bronze. During his fifty-year career, he produced an impressive body of work, consisting of over two-hundred sculptures, prints, and drawings. The majority of his output consisted of bronze figurative sculptures and portraiture. His work has been included in over one-hundred and fifty group exhibitions and featured in five solo exhibitions, and his sculptures appear in numerous museums and public and private collections.
 

He was an Associate Professor in the Department of Art at the University at Buffalo of the State University of New York, where he taught for thirty-four years, from 1968-2002. During that time, he was the founder and former director of the Casting/Welding Institute. Prior to that, Tony taught at Mount Ida College from 1964-1968 and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) in Boston from 1962-1965.
 

After serving in the US Armed Forces in the Korean War, Tony received a Graduate Diploma in Sculpture from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 1962, and a Diploma in Sculpture and Printmaking in 1961. His main mentor was notable Boston-based sculptor Harold Tovish. He also studied mural painting and sculpture at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico in 1953, drawing at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris in 1963, and welding at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1966. Having been granted a teaching sabbatical from the University at Buffalo in 1998, Tony traveled on a thirty-two thousand mile trip through Central and North America, exploring American Indian and Pre-Columbian art and culture in various regions.

Aside from his work as a sculptor, Tony enjoyed teaching, attending classical music concerts, studying American and world history, hiking, camping, and being with family.
 

He is survived by his wife Eleanor Paterson in Saratoga Springs, NY; his sister Patricia "Tricia" Barrett; his son Robert Paterson, his wife Victoria Paterson, and their son Dylan, and his son David Paterson, his wife Jung-Ah Paterson, and their son Philip.
 

A celebration of Tony's life and achievements event will be held on June 3, 2023, at 2 pm at the Arthur Zankel Music Center, Filene Ladd Concert Hall, 815 N Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY, with a reception to follow.

For information on his work, visit www.tonypaterson.com
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