Biography from Trailside Galleries - WY:
| The name Joe Beeler is one that needs no introduction. A pioneer in the field of Western art, he has combined a lifetime of experience on the range with formal art training at Tulsa university and the Art Center School of Design in California to become one the nation’s preeminent artists working in western genre today.
A native of Joplin, Missouri with a hefty dose of Cherokee blood, Beeler’s keen interest in the West manifested itself through his childhood drawings, impressions he experienced while growing up in an area rich with colorful history and the enduring pioneer spirit. His professional career began in illustration at the University of Oklahoma Press. From there, he pursued a career as a full time artist.
A one-man show at the Gilcrease Museum in 1960 helped pave the way towards national success and acclaim. Since then he has won multiple awards and has exhibited in most of the nation’s top western art museums including The Wolloroc Museum, National Cowboy Hall of Fame, Montana Historical Society, Charles M. Russell Museum, the Heard, Whitney and the Institute of Texas Cultures.
In 1965, he helped found the Cowboy Artists of America, an organization credited with much of the popularity of western art today.Whether sitting at his easel or in the saddle, Joe Beeler has always enjoyed telling a good story and no where is that more apparent than through his art.
A self confessed romantic, he strives to go beyond just the technique and convey feeling and mood in both his painting and sculpture. While much of his subject matter is contemporary, he particularly enjoys creating historical scenes. Much of the reference material comes from his own personal collection of Indian artifacts, cowboy paraphernalia and an extensive library of western books. Joe Beeler and his wife Sharon live in Sedona, Arizona. |
Biography from Claggett/Rey Gallery:
| Joe Beeler grew up in the Osage country of the Missouri-Oklahoma borderland like a young Huck Finn on horseback. With a pedigree that traces to a proud people enriched by Cherokee blood, he learned early how to rope, ride and hunt, and soon developed a knack for drawing cowboys, Indians and horses. He filled his head and heart with tales of old-timers, with his own adventures of horses and cattle, and with the vivid impressions of the swirling color and excitement of Quapaw powwows.
After a stint in Korea with Uncle Sam, Beeler met and married Sharon McPherson in the summer of 1956. He earned a degree in fine art from Kansas State College, and then went on to California for further study at the Art Center School in Los Angeles. Back in Osage country after just a year out West, the Beelers settled in a small rural cabin where Joe struggled to paint for a living with time off daily to shoot something for supper.
Tough times measure a man's mettle. Beeler painted neighboring ranchers' prize bulls and horses, and worked tirelessly on more meaningful pieces in the tradition of his hero, Charlie Russell. Recognition came slow, but it came, and in 1961 the Beelers left the Oklahoma hills for the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona. With new country and fresh inspiration, Beeler's talent quickened to a gallop.
In the almost 40 years since, Beeler has earned his place in the vanguard of the contemporary Western art movement, with one-man exhibitions at every major Western art museum venue and as a founding member of the Cowboy Artists of America.
The faces in Joe Beeler's paintings and sculptures shine with the wonder of Western life. Their eyes look both within and without, searching for and capturing the soul of the land. |
Biography from Altermann Galleries and Auctioneers, Santa Fe I:
| A founding member of Cowboy Artists of America, Joe Beeler was a pioneer in the territory of contemporary Western art. He was there at the beginning of the tremendous development of that territory in the early 1960’s.
The key event in Beeler’s pioneering activity was the founding, in 1965, of the Cowboy Artists of America. From that association of like-minded people flows a stream of fine art works-making the exhibition eagerly anticipated and commercially successful.
Raised in Oklahoma and Missouri, Beeler received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Kansas State Teachers College and continued his studies at the Art Center School in Los Angeles. His professional career began in illustration at the University of Oklahoma Press in Norman. This gave him the confidence to pursue an artist’s career, and collectors were quick to acquire his paintings.
The success of his one-man show at the Thomas Gilcrease Museum in 1960 established him on a course that would lead to nation acclaim and a string of honors and awards.
Numerous medals and awards have been bestowed on Beeler’s work, including fold and silver honors in sculpture, silver in drawing and an Artists’ Choice Award, all from the CAA organization; there aren’t many artists who can claim such versatility. In 1994, the Arizona Historic League named him an “Arizona History Maker” – an award presented to a very select group of Arizonans. In 1998, Canada’s Cowboys Festival presented “Living Legends Awards” to six individuals in different categories of cowboy culture, and Beeler was the artist honored by the Canadian group.
ReSources include: 2002 Cowboy Artists of America |
Biography from Leanin’ Tree and Sculpture Garden of Western Art:
| “Bidding For a Bride”Oil - 1981
A proud warrior has brought his son to the lodge of the maiden’s family. The two of them came prepared with many goods and are here to barter. Already they have parted with a decorated medicine bag and a valuable rifle, complete with loaded cartridge belt. A protective grandmother is about to demand the rare cast iron cooking pot and the maiden’s father has his eye on that fine bay horse. Younger brother is hoping that before the trading has ended the family will possess both horses. The talk will go on all afternoon, the visitors will be asked to sit, and by evening’s light the contract will be sealed with a few draws on the pipe.
The Indians of the plains tribes are favorite subjects of Joe Beeler, though he is equally famous for his genuine and earthy cowboy paintings. He traces his own Cherokee bloodlines through his father. His younger years were spent absorbing the down home culture of rural Missouri and Oklahoma. A fine arts degree from Kansas State Teachers College was followed by a year at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles.
In 1960 the Gilcrease Museum gave Joe his first important one man show. In 1965 he cast his first bronze sculpture, and in that medium he has achieved excellence. Several of his sculpture pieces can be viewed throughout this museum.
Perhaps Joe Beeler’s greatest contribution to the renaissance of western art was his participation as one of the five founders of the Cowboy Artists of America, now recognized as a prestigious association of western artists. Beeler now lives in Sedona, Arizona, where he continues to paint and sculpt the Indians and cowboys of the American West. |
Biography from AskART:
| A founding member of the Cowboy Artists of America, Joe Beeler is a
pioneer in contemporary western art and is accomplished in both
painting and bronzes.
He was born in Joplin, Missouri and was
early recognized as having art talent. He was raised in Oklahoma
and Missouri and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Kansas
State Teachers College and continued studies at the Art Center School
in Los Angeles.
He served in the Korean War and taught at
Tulsa University and Kansas State Teachers College, which he later
credited as giving him the art background he needed. His art
career began with illustration assignments with the University of
Oklahoma Press in Norman. He continued as a free-lance
illustrator and began selling his work to ranchers.
A 1960
one-man show at the Thomas L Gilcrease Museum in 1960 launched his
career of national acclaim, honors, and awards. From 1962, he and
his family have lived in Sedona, Arizona where his studio has been on
five acres of land. In 2002, he was selected by the family of
Barry Goldwater, former United States Senator from Arizona, to sculpt
the statue of the Senator for a one-acre park named for him at Tatum
and Lincoln streets in Paradise Valley, Arizona.
Sources include:
Art of the West
Southwest Art |
Biography from AskART:
| Joe Beeler died in Sedona, Arizona on April 26, 2006. The
circumstances were fitting for this man whose life had been dedicated
to memorializing the American west, especially his home state of
Arizona. He died on his Sedona ranch of a heart attack while
dragging calves to a branding fire. "No cowboy could ask for a
better way to go than being horseback and with his boots on. Mr.
Beeler died doing what he loved."
Source:
Obituary, Red Rock News, Sedona, Arizona, May 3, 2006
Courtesy, Fran Elliott of Sedona
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Joe Beeler is also mentioned in these AskART essays:
Sculptors
Western Painters
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