Boyer Gonzales Jr, a noted painter and teacher in Texas, was born in Galveston, Texas and raised in family homes in both Galveston and Woodstock, New York. He attended Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania and in 1931 graduated with a degree in architecture from the University on Virginia.

During the summers while at the University of Virginia, he studied with his father in Woodstock. After graduation he returned to Woodstock and studied under Henry Lee McFee and Yasuo Kuniyoshi. He also assisted Yasuo Kuniyoshi in his classes.

In 1937 he returned to San Antonio to assist McFee in establishing the Witte Memorial School of Art. He taught at the school until 1939 when he accepted a position at the University of Texas in Austin. In 1941, Gonzales taught at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles.

From 1942-1945 Boyer Gonzales, Jr served in the United States Army Air Corps.

In 1946 he was appointed assistant professor at the University of Texas. From 1947-48 he was chairman of the art department. In 1954 Gonzales accepted a teaching position at the University of Washington, Seattle, and was appointed Director of the Henry Art Gallery at the University. He served as chairman of the art department from 1954-66.

In 1975 he received the Governor's Award of Special Commendation. In 1979 he retired as Professor Emeritus.

He died in Bellevue, Washington in 1987.
Source:

John and Deborah Powers, Texas Painters, Sculptors and Graphic Artists

Exhibited "Elizabeth, 1939" at American Painting Today, The American Federation of Arts, Washington, 1939. Illustrated in the catalogue on page 142.