Boyer Gonzales was born in Houston, Texas in 1864 and became known for marine scenes of the sandy shores of the Gulf of Mexico. The son of the President of the Cotton Exchange in Galveston, Gonzales also became a cotton broker as well as a part-time painter while in his twenties.

While living in Galveston he became friends with artist Winslow Homer's brother, who arranged for the two men to meet. Subsequently Boyer Gonzales painted with Winslow Homer for nine summers in Prouts Neck, Maine, and the two became life-long friends.

Gonzales continued his father's business in Galveston while also painting. In the early 1890s, he traveled to the European art centers as well as an extended study trip to Mexico. He studied art during the summers with William John Whittemore and Walter Lansil.

By the early 1900s, he had divested himself of his father's business and devoted himself to full-time painting. During this time he studied under Lowell Birge Harrison in Woodstock, New York in an Art Student's League summer session. He and his wife traveled extensively in Europe visiting the Netherlands, Germany and Italy. In Florence he studied with Jorge Gambini.

By 1912, Gonzales was painting in San Antonio and Galveston in the winters and Woodstock, New York where he later built a studio, in the summers. He went on painting trips to Monhegan Island, Maine; Taos, New Mexico, Arizona and Mexico.

Boyer Gonzales died while visiting his sister in San Antonio in 1934.

Sources:
John and Deborah Powers, Texas Painters, Sculptors and Graphic Artists
Peggy and Harold Samuels, Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West