Walter Sheffer - Late Career

Late Career

After years of decreased activity due to personal strife in the 1970s and early 1980s, Sheffer gained national attention in the mid-1980s for his "Faces of Aging" photographic series. Thirty-five dramatic black-and-white portraits of his fellow residents at the River Hills East Health Care Center on Milwaukee's east side became an inspiring, travelling exhibition. The display travelled from Milwaukee to Newport Beach, San Diego, Chicago, Washington DC and Seattle. Together with Milwaukee artist Sue Bartfield, who worked with him on the project, he was honored in 1985 by the National Council on Aging in Washington D.C. for this work.

Sheffer remained engaged with art, music, poetry and ideas throughout his life. He often attended gallery and museum openings and presented lectures on his life's work at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design where he once told students: "Photography will change your life. After you photograph, you notice the light and it exposes you to beauty." His circle of friends gathered daily at the Brady Street Pharmacy in Milwaukee to discuss art and recent events. Former Milwaukee Art Museum photography curator Tom Bamberger described Sheffer as "the center of intellectual life" in Milwaukee. Sheffer continued to photograph friends and maintained a flower garden on the roof top of Christopher Street East Health Care Center until his death.