William Christian Weber Jr.

Born and raised in Irvington, during the Great Depression, Mr. Weber spent his childhood running around Southwest Baltimore with his gang of friends. He had treasured memories of playing baseball, going to movies, listening to his favorite radio programs, and playing with his lead toy soldiers.

Mr. Weber was 13 years old on the day of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. He remembered first hearing about it while listening to a little radio while working in the basement of his family’s home. During World War II, he clipped the battle maps from the local newspaper and hung them on his bedroom wall to study them.

Later, Mr. Weber served in the US Army during the Korean War Era. When he returned, he attended the Maryland Institute, College of Art (MICA) on the GI Bill. After receiving his degree, he went into teaching.

Art History was Mr. Weber’s passion and he spent his career passing his extensive knowledge on to his students. His favorite painters included American Regionalist Thomas Hart Benton, Ashcan School artist George Bellows, and the 14th century Italian masters Giotto and Duccio. He began his teaching career at MICA and spent his later years at the Baltimore City Community College. He continued to lecture until he was in his 80s. He was also a devoted caregiver to his mother Margaret Lindsay Weber later in her life.

Mr. Weber spent many summers traveling and painting in locations such as Mexico and Europe. He had a special love for Baltimore City’s past and spent many summer days sketching the buildings in decaying neighborhoods and the abandoned equipment in industrial areas. He also traveled up and down the east coast, sketching and painting in Harper’s Ferry, the Chesapeake Bay area, New England, and Charleston, South Carolina.

During the 1950s and ‘60s Mr. Weber exhibited and won prizes in local fine art shows, such as the Peal Museum’s “Life in Baltimore” exhibition and the Harper’s Ferry Annual Art Show. His watercolor painting Atlantic Coast Storm won the Chiswell Prize for the most popular watercolor during a late 1950’s Rehoboth Art League show. In 1957 the Baltimore Watercolor Club awarded him the Maryland Artist Prize for his painting “Landscape”. He occasionally exhibited under the name B. Lindsay.

In an October 9, 1957 Baltimore Sun article, journalist Robert Breen profiled Mr. Weber. He called Mr. Weber’s style, “...strong, masculine and with an abundance of vitality.” He also noted that his paintings had “...rhythm and freedom, a greater lyricism in his work” and that he was a “meticulous craftsman.”

William C. Weber spent his retirement years continuing his drawing, reading and research, often with his beloved cat Turd Baby at his side. He also enjoyed watching and taking care of the local birds. His loved ones ask that you remember him by feeding the birds, particularly in winter.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in William C. Weber’s name to his local animal shelter, the Maryland SPCA (https://mdspca.org/donate/)

In accordance with his wishes, the memorial service was private. He is survived by those who love him.