November 30, 2024 – March 22, 2025

Walter Long: Renaissance Man

Walter Kinsella Long was born in Auburn on February 2, 1904. His father, Albert Long, died when he was in his early teens and Walter moved to Fair Haven with an aunt and uncle to attend high school while his mother Anna looked for work. 

After high school Walter enrolled in the College of Fine Arts at Syracuse University where he worked teaching art classes and setting up exhibits at the Syracuse Museum of Fine arts. 

When he graduated from Syracuse University he spent the next several years teaching at the University of Chicago at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Florida, helping to establish art programs before returning to Syracuse to earn his Masters in Fine Arts in Painting. 

While at Syracuse University, he became involved with an arts group in Auburn called the Daubers’ Club. It was at a meeting of the Club on February 2, 1932 that the idea for an art center in Auburn was first mentioned, and members of the Club worked tirelessly to establish the Cayuga Museum. Walter became the Museum’s first director in 1936, and served as such until his death in 1986. 

Walter’s varied interests are evident in the countless projects he was involved with. He organized art classes at the museum for children and adults, helped found the Archaeological Society of Central New York and designed the Owasco Stockaded Indian Village, assisted area churches with interior renovations, and designed medical equipment with Welch-Allyn. These are just a few of the many activities Walter took on, earning him the nickname “Renaissance Man.”