WILLIAM R. BEEBE BIOGRAPHY
William R. Beebe was born in Bethesda, Maryland in 1956. He is an accomplished
contemporary realist who has been painting professionally for 30 years. His art career began
with his move to Maine in 1990, where he became enamored by life along the coast. For 12
years, William's many subjects included historic wooden schooners, lighthouses, lobster boats,
and the many small coastal villages.
Now, William calls Charleston, SC, his home and is as enthusiastically capturing everything
Charleston. His love of architecture and color are satiated by the charming, historic buildings
all around town.
His move to the Lowcountry has also inspired William to delve even deeper into his passion for
Avian Art, producing portraiture of Great Blue Herons, Egrets, and the Brown Pelican.
William's representational work ranges from highly detailed and crisp to painterly and
Impressionistic. His oil paintings have been described as “museum quality” as there is a depth
and richness to them that demonstrates a high level of expertise and mastery.
William is a graduate of the University of Maryland in Fine Art. The first maritime artist William
took note of was John Stobart. More recently, the Impressionist works of Sisley, Monet,
Whistler, Frank Benson, Sargent, and Chase have inspired him and influenced his techniques.
Recently, his Avian painting Snowy's Island Sanctuary was featured on the cover of
Charleston's ART MAG, along with several featured articles in the magazine about his Avian
Art.
Many paintings are in major private and corporate collections in the United States and abroad.
His painting On Monhegan Island has been featured in several publications including American
Art Review and a book entitled The Art of Monhegan Island. William is a member of Oil Painters
of America and the Charleston Artist Guild.
William’s paintings have been exhibited in numerous gallery and museum shows throughout
the years. His work has been shown at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine and at
the Coos Art Museum in Coos Bay, Oregon, where he won a Merit award in the 12th Annual
Maritime Art Exhibition. Additionally he has been a part of several Marine Masters Exhibitions
in Mystic, CT and Thomaston, ME and the 26th Annual International Marine Art Exhibition at
the Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport.
William was the resident artist for MBNA America for 9 years, where he painted many of their
properties around the world. His works were reproduced and featured on the company’s
quarterly stockholders report covers. Although well-known for his maritime paintings during
the MBNA years, he was very fortunate to have a wide variety of commissioned projects,
ranging from portraits to paintings of antique cars, yachts, homes, horse races, just to name a
few. All of these projects contributed to him becoming the versatile artist he is today.
William resides in Mt. Pleasant, SC with his wife Jennifer, loving life in the Lowcountry.
William is represented by Mary Martin Galleries of Fine Art in Charleston SC.
