B. 1931-2006 - Joe Beeler was born in Joplin, Missouri in 1931. Part Cherokee, Beeler’s connection to the west was realized artistically at an early age. As a child, he drew often, and continued to develop his skills while attending college at Kansas State Teachers College prior to his acceptance at the Art Center School of Design in Los Angeles, CA. After finishing with his studies, Beeler worked as an illustrator for the University of Oklahoma Press. Life as a full-time artist was difficult at first, but Beeler was recognized for his excellence. A one-man show at the Gilcrease Museum in 1960 helped to launch his career and, in 1962, he and his family moved to AZ, where they still live today. In 1965, Beeler and several other artists specializing in western and cowboy subject matter started the Cowboy Artists of America, an organization that has done more than perhaps any other to popularize and legitimize western art amongst a new generation of American art collectors.