Boevé, Edgar (1929-) | Heritage Hall, Hekman Library

Name: Boevé, Edgar (1929-)

Historical Note: Edgar Boevé has been dubbed as the “Face of Art” for Calvin College. Boevé was born in 1929 in Marshalltown, Iowa. Boevé helped developed Calvin College’s art department in the late 1950s. He lived with his parents in parsonages in Grand Rapids, Louisiana, and Ridgewood, New Jersey where hegraduated from Eastern Christian High School and later from Franklin School of the Arts in New York City. He also graduated from Calvin College and the University of Michigan. Boevé married Ervina Van Dyke in 1955 and joined her on the faculty of Calvin College in 1958. They collaborated on many theater productions together.  An artist himself, Boevé created religious art for over 70 years, using a variety of mediums. His distinctive artwork has been commissioned for Christian high schools and churches as well as displayed in numerous art galleries. In 2018, Edgar and Ervina were honored with the establishment of The Edgar and Ervina Endowment for the Arts for the Calvin Theological Seminary. Boevé was the first president of Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA). His book on art education as well as numerous devotional books were published by the Calvin Theological Seminary. Boevé was a professor of art emeritus and remained active in the art community until his death in 2019.

Records or Manuscript Collections Created by Boevé, Edgar