Harvey Breverman (1934-2024)

Harvey Breverman is a master printer and painter who works in several media. The Archaeologist II is a self-portrait reflecting on his international travels as a cultural and artistic archaeologist. Breverman believes we are all “shaped, formed and informed by a past.” His artworks are filled with symbolic details that refer to a specific profession or accomplishments. In this painting, he wears a yarmulke and prayer shawl of his Jewish faith. A primary source for his work is the human drama “particularized by the figure in all its frailty and grandeur.” He explains, “A surround of fragments, connected or disparate…serves as a compelling and complex vehicle not only for identity, disguise, and deception, but as a conveyor of associations and private mythologies.”

A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Breverman began teaching at the University at Buffalo in 1961, and created a vibrant printmaking program. Promoted to full professor in 1969, he later received the rank of State University of New York Distinguished Professor of Art in 1999. In 2003, he received the Distinguished Teaching of Art Award from the College Art Association. He has presented more than 85 solo exhibitions, has represented the U.S. in International Print Biennales, and is represented in major museums around the world.—NW