Born:
1931
Joplin, Missouri

Died:

Biography:
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 that will be the focal point of a one-acre park in Paradise Valley, Arizona.

Credit: "Art of the West", "Southwest Art"