Born in 1930, Beckendorf grew up on a small farm in South Texas near the town of Mathis. His first memories were of feeding farm animals. Later, he drove teams of horses in the fields and worked as a ranch hand until he found that oil field work paid better.
He attended the Mathis schools, the University of Corpus Christi and Southwest Texas State, where he met his wife Dawn, before serving in the Korean War. After the war, he finished his degree at the University of Texas. Through it all, he studied art and drew what he saw around him.
In his youth, Beckendorf listened to stories told by Anglo and Mexican ranch hands, trappers, hunters, drifters. He met old Indian fighters, rangers and Civil War veterans, cattle barrons, cotton kings, and Texas oil men. He became convinced that no better heritage was ever left to anyone than the Texas landscape and its animals, and he was going to spend his life drawing and painting and learning about Texas.
He did just that and, over the past 30 years, became the most recognized name in Texas art. He published more than 1500 editions of prints and 8 books on Texas and Texas wildlife.
He received many honors from universities, governments and corporations, yet when a young person said, "My folks have had Mr. Beckendorf's art around for as long as I can remember and now that I have my own place, I want Mr. Beckendorf's art on my walls, too." That was the highest honor. |
