Edward Whiteman’s artist’s preference to work in paper grew out of a desire, in his words, “to become part of the surface and to give it a personal history before committing myself to an image.” Through his specially developed techniques, he utilizes the flexibility of paper to achieve an effect of the inseparability of image and media. The collage process he employs allows for quick changes and immediate discovery in his work. According to Whiteman, his work is inspired by found objects that the artist has collected over many decades. The artist’s ability to find rhythm and beauty in discarded metal breathes new life into discarded ore.

Edward Whiteman is originally from upstate New York. He received his undergraduate degree from the Albright Art School at the University of Buffalo. After residing in New York and England, he moved to New Orleans. The artist was included in the 1975 Whitney Biennial and the 1975 New Orleans Museum of Art Biennial. He received a Ford Foundation Grant in 1980. In 1990 he was awarded a major grant from the Penny McCall Foundation. That same year Whiteman moved his studio from Uptown New Orleans to Covington. In 2011 he received the President’s award as the St. Tammany Parish Visual Artist of the Year. Whiteman’s work is included in the collections of the Albright-Knox Gallery, the National Museum of Fine Arts, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the State of Louisiana, and the Virlane Foundation Collection in New Orleans.