Walter Channing, founder and partner of Channing Daughters Winery in Bridgehampton, died Thursday, March 12, at Hamptons Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Southampton of complications from frontotemporal dementia. It was 74.
He was born in Boston, Massachusetts where he attended local schools and took up his father's woodworking hobby, according to his biography on the Channing Daughters website.
He was constantly rebuilding the house and spent his summer vacations doing tree surgery, working for a construction contractor, and programming computers.
He graduated from Harvard College and Business School.
After graduation, Channing moved to New York and worked in healthcare consulting and later venture capital investing in medical startups.
He became a founder and partner at The CW Group, a New York-based venture capital firm focused on investment and business development in the healthcare, biotechnology and managed care services sectors.
The CW Group, his first fund launched in 1983, has invested in more than 40 companies and acted as lead investor or originator in 25, according to Channing's bio.
He was a member of the Venture Advisory Board of Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston and the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Harvard School of Public Health.
In 1982, Channing planted his first Chardonnay vines at his Bridgehampton farm.
In his spare time, he recovered and reworked discarded materials.
During the demolition of the Hudson River piers, hundreds of feet of strong seasoned lumber were scheduled to be hauled out to sea for burning, but Channing hid as much as he could.
In the following years, the wood was reborn as furniture, interior walls and art objects, all depicting the form and quality of the original wood, according to his bio.
Later, he retrieved discarded trees from the East Hampton landfill that led to a new medium: roots and trunk forms.
More recently he created his own personal dump in Bridgehampton to have a ready stock at his disposal.
Channing's works have been shown since 1975 at places such as OK Harris Gallery, Webb and Parsons Gallery, Handschin Gallery, Basel, Switzerland. the Indianapolis Museum of Fine Arts and the Root Art Center, Hamilton College, according to his resume.
Other exhibitions have included: the Squibb Gallery in Princeton, New Jersey, and the Elaine Benson and Louise Himmelfarb Galleries in the Hamptons, and he also regularly exhibits his work at the Century Association's annual Sculpture Exhibition in New York.
His most recent work has included inverted, whole trees placed on scaffolding, chainsaws, sculptural “Berms” and curvilinear wood stacking, and some of them depict tree roots in anthropomorphic form, acting like and even imitating humans.
Channing had a studio in Bridgehampton where he worked on his art.
Larry Perrine, also founding partner and winemaker, at Bridgehampton Winery, told Edible East End:
“Walter Channing was a charismatic, extremely talented businessman and artist. A true character. My partner of 20 years and my best friend. He planted his first vines here in Bridgehampton in 1982. He gave us free rein to create Channing Daughters Winery according to our dreams and visions. He was proud of our achievements. As I grew and developed the winery, I hired younger, very talented people and stood back and supported them. Walter encouraged me to “revel in the glory of the younger ones you hire for the next generation.” It's not about selfishness.' He leaves a remarkable legacy of family, art and wine for us all.”
According to The East Hampton Star, Channing is survived by his wife of 25 years, Molly Seagrave, four daughters, Francesca Channing and Isabella Channing of New York. and Sylvia Channing and Cornelia Channing of Bridgehampton.