[3] He rose to prominence in the 1950s as an abstract expressionist associated with the Bay Area Figurative Movement,[1] along with his partner, Theophilus Brown, whom he met in 1952 while attending graduate school.
In 1956, Wonner started painting a series of dreamlike male bathers and boys with bouquets.
In 1962, he began teaching at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Wonner died April 23, 2008, in San Francisco, California.
Wonner's works are included in the permanent collections of: