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Pennsylvania has a friend in Uruguay
Artist William M. Hoffman Jr. of Ligonier Twp.
Scott Spangler/Tribune-Review
Artist William M. Hoffman Jr. moved to the area to continue landscapes
Scott Spangler/Tribune-Review
Two paintings by William M. Hoffman Jr. of Ligonier were selected to be part of an exhibit at the South American embassy.
A representative from the U.S. State Department's Art in Embassies Program saw samples of Hoffman's work on his Web site. Uruguay Ambassador Martin J. Silverstein chose a scenic view of the Loyalhanna Creek in Latrobe and a landscape from the Pocono Mountains from Hoffman's vast collection of work.
"I think the ambassador picked things that represented his home," said Hoffman. "The paintings will be on loan for three years. If the ambassador is removed from office, then they'll come back to me."
The entire process with the State Department has taken four months from the time the ambassador selected the art. Representatives from the Art in Embassies Program will arrive at the Hoffman home sometime this month to pack up the paintings.
"It was tons of paperwork back and forth," said Hoffman's wife, Bonnie, who serves as Web master for his home page. She photographs the work and scans it into her computer for use on the Web site.
The paintings are part of Hoffman's early works. After he graduated from Latrobe High School in 1951, Hoffman attended the Simboli School of Art in Pittsburgh for two years before going on to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. In 1956, he won a Cresson European Traveling Scholarship.
"A friend and I wanted to go to Italy and France, but then we heard there was going to be a Rembrandt exhibit in Holland, so we changed our itinerary completely," he said.
Hoffman served in the U.S. Army for two years and returned to Philadelphia to finish school. He was awarded a bachelor of fine arts degree in 1962 and a masters of fine arts from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in 1967. He taught art at Rutgers University's Camden, N.J., campus for 33 years.
"When I came home during college breaks, I was a lifeguard at Patty's Beach in Latrobe. I also painted," said Hoffman.
As an art professor, Hoffman would take his students outdoors to paint. One of his favorite spots was Harleigh Cemetery in Camden where the poet Walt Whitman is buried. In 1974, he began documenting historical and artistic locations within the city of Camden. The resulting book, "Camden: Historical Impressions," features prints of the city's unique architecture, including examples of Georgian, Federal, Greek Classical, Gothic Revival, Italianate, and Queen Anne styles.
"I'm interested in old architecture. There are things that I like, and I want to freeze them," said Hoffman. "I express myself by putting it down visually."
He never works from photographs, but instead relies on sketches. Again and again, Hoffman will return to a particular spot at the same time of day to complete his painting. And if the light isn't right for one painting, he'll turn his attention to another interesting locale.
After 40 years away from western Pennsylvania, Hoffman returned to paint the quiet serenity of Ligonier and surrounding areas and to capture unique architecture and the landscape from his childhood.
"New Jersey is becoming so populated," said Hoffman. "It was nice to be 15 minutes from Philadelphia, but it would take me an hour to get out to somewhere I haven't painted."
The Hoffmans' Ligonier home is filled with a mix of old and current work — a large portrait of his mother, his wife in her wedding gown, the Shirey Motel in Ligonier, Latrobe circa 1956 and self- portraits. In his studio are ongoing projects, including the H.G. Potthoff Jewelers building on Ligonier Street, the Trinity Lutheran Church on Weeldon Street and the Standard Steel plant on Ligonier Street, all in Latrobe.
