HM Saffer, II « Richard Boyd Art Gallery

HM Saffer, II

Born in Philadelphia, PA in 1942 HM Saffer II launched his career by exhibiting his art at a public show at the tender age of six.

Upon graduation from Temple University in 1965, he traveled to Paris, France to enroll in graduate economics courses. While in Paris he performed with many notable French stars including Hugues Autray, Jacques Brel and many other. He was later hired by Barclay Records as a producer and had several hit records in 1968 and 1969. During this period HM also owned two restaurants in Paris, and later one in Spain.

Before returning to the United States in 1970, he completed selected studies at L’Ecole Des Beaux Arts and exhibited in Paris and Brussels, Belgium. HM returned to the United States in 1971 and continued his music career at Warner Brothers Productions where he co-wrote the international hit song, “Look What They Done To My Song, Ma”, recorded by Ray Charles, Melanie and other performers. While at Warner he painted a forty foot mural in their Madison Ave., NY headquarters and exhibited his works in the firm’s lobby.

In 1972 HM was hired by the dynamic songwriter/producer Bob Crewe as Senior Vice President for the Crewe Group of companies where he worked with the industry’s top names including Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Vicki Carr, and Oliver. Later that year, he established HMS Two Music Ltd. and spent his time writing and producing music for films, commercials, recordings and Broadway productions. HM’s work in the commercial field is familiar to us all with creations for Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Ford Motor Company, and Michelob among others.

Through this period he continued to paint. In 1981 he began to study the art of Japanese brush painting, Sumi-e. HM traveled to Japan in 1983 to study with Japanese masters and was represented by Galerie Musee and the Artbridge Gallery in Japan, and in Hong Kong by Alisen Gallery and the Kaai Fung Hin Gallery as a resident artist where he enjoyed many successful solo exhibits.

In 1994 HM reentered the United States and took residence in Upstate New York. His style of painting shifted from works on paper to include paintings in oil. HM became a pointillist artist with a focus on landscapes. His paintings are a combination of Western techniques with those from the Orient, such as sumi-e, and the use of Japanese and Chinese colors creating a unique path towards the visual expression of his personal and emotional views.

HM has instructed at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA, Berkshire Community College, and Columbia-Greene Community CollegeOsher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), Art School of Columbia County (ASCC). For the past 40 years HM and his paintings have been represented by galleries internationally and in the United States.

Please note, images are for reference only. No image can capture the depth and nuances of an original work of art as seen in person at the gallery.