George Wittman was born in New York City in 1963. In 1979, while living in Pound Ridge, NY, he sold his first paintings at the age of sixteen. He went on to study art at Binghamton University. His work with artist Linda Sokolowski challenged Wittman, she recognized the basic talents of each student and then pushed them, often with tough critiques and then masterful guidance to enhance their skills in drawing, painting and printmaking. The practice of teaching young artists time-honored skills and master traditional arts was out of favor in the early 80's, often replaced by the singular emphasis on free expression or conceptual art. He credits Ms. Sokolowski for bucking the art educational trend of the time. One critic observed that the art world was in the 'post-skills' age. Recently, there has been a shift, a reemergence of interest in realism along with a fresh appreciation for contemporary artists who work and study traditional craft and technique. This is a welcome change for Wittman, as the support and interest in his paintings has increased exponentially.

To help pay the bills during his University years, Wittman held the position of charge scenic artist for Binghamton's New York Council of the Arts funded regional opera house. At age 22, moved to Manhattan with a four-year professional portfolio and became, at the time the youngest person to be accepted as a full journeyman member of the United Scenic Artist's Union. For the next ten years, while painting hundreds of Broadway, feature film and Metropolitan Opera sets and backdrops, Wittman studied closely with what he considers some of the finest painters he'd ever met. While working long hours on such shows as Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, M. Butterfly, Wittman had to paint in every conceivable technique, watched over by some of the world's most infamous and demanding set designers taught Wittman to work with intense concentration. He concurrently served as an assistant to Keith Haring on several large murals, who generously shared his insights on the how to meander successfully through New York's art scene

In 2009, George moved from Manhattan to Kent, Connecticut. Having enjoyed a successful career as a fine artist in Manhattan he thought he would begin a small series of paintings of his adopted region. Little did he know that this was going to become a turning point and challenge him artistically like never before. In April 2010, with the permission of friend and farmer, Megan Haney he began a series of new work at Marble Valley Farm. Megan Haney graciously dubbed him the "artist in residence". At the start, Wittman became aware that painting scenes from the farm would require a major change in the technique and scale of his work.

Wittman's earlier landscape work was often inspired by the 19th century Hudson River, Barbizon and Tonalist movements, glowing with multiple layers of hazy glazes. However, while working and spending time learning about the reality of life on a contemporary farm, he became inspired to paint the fields, buildings, equipment and glorious organic produce of Marble Valley Farm in a sharper focus. Along with an updated contemporary technique, he swapped traditional turpentine and linseed oil for alkyd medium with its quick drying, flattening and excellent blending aspects to smooth his brushstrokes. He sharpened his focus mentally and aesthetically in order to capture the immediacy of life and space at the farm. Observing the detritus, tools and equipment found around the fields and buildings at the farm, Wittman believes including this imagery in his new work is essential to presenting a visual story of farm life in the 21st century. "Though a modern farm still has magnificent inherent beauty, the pasture and it's environs are shrinking in today's world of urban sprawl. When choosing to paint on a contemporary farm, the pasture can become political ground as local farms struggle to stay alive. I was educated in the farmer's approach to organic, community supported agriculture and the Kent Land Trust's enormous effort to conserve the rural landscape, agricultural heritage and ongoing maintenance of environmental and wildlife habitats. Considering the history of the 19th century American artists' contribution to the development of the conservancy movement, I understood the project might also serve to chronicle the 21st century conservancy, offering the opportunity to characterize the contemporary relevance of my use of pastoral imagery, which is so often generally dismissed as merely quaint, never important." The farm series both excited and galvanized Wittman to push his craft to a new level. So now, having enjoyed a successful career as a fine artist in Manhattan, Wittman feels he is working at the top of his game. He considers the progress he has made with this focused series of paintings has been transformative and personally significant. His one year project will finally culminate with a new one-man show " The Four Season's of the Field". SCOTT & BOWNE in Kent, Connecticut, the areas newest gallery will be presenting George Wittman's latest work from July 30 through September 5th 2011.Here is more information.

George Wittman has exhibited in galleries in New York, East Hampton, and Summit, New Jersey, including Jus de Pomme gallery, White Columns Gallery, Wessel O'Connor Gallery, P.S. 122, The Ed Williams Gallery, and Koch-McErlain. George Wittman is the son of writer George H. Wittman and the grandson of syndicated cartoonist George Clark, whose comic panel “The Neighbors” ran nationally from 1939 to 1972.