Bronze Hound's Art Collection: Joe Beeler (1931-2006), Cowboy Artist Extraordinaire!

Another happy find for my collection was this bronze award plaque from the Arizona Historical Foundation. Now, you might not think that what is essentially a trophy could be considered art. I say, consider who sculpted it!

The Arizona Historical Foundation was founded in 1959 by Senator Barry Goldwater, who had no small measure of fame as a photographer himself. Members of the board came from among the politically powerful and "upper crust" of Arizona society. One of the prominent members of the board was grocery store magnate Eddie Basha. He was close friends with the well-known artist Joe Beeler (in fact, Mr. Basha had Mr. Beeler design many "tokens" that Eddie used to give out as gifts - they are highly collectible now!). While this piece is unsigned, it's not surprising that when they wanted a showy award, these bigwigs went to the local bigwig artist to have it made. The plaque depicts the residents of Arizona through history - the Indian, the Spanish Priest and the Cowboy, along with a few Arizonan implements (like a gold pan and cattle brand), on a background of Arizona's sun rays (from the state flag). The Arizona Historical Foundation was merged into the Arizona Historical Society in 2012, so these awards will never be given out again.

I don't think I really need to write a whole lot about Joe Beeler. He was a famous artist in his lifetime, and is still highly regarded today. His bio can be found all over the web.

Mine is an early award - on the canteen is inscribed "US ARMY" (rather awkwardly, actually). On later casts this area was smooth. I'm uncertain how many were made or awarded. The research is ongoing.

Edit: I recently found this in the Arizona State University (ASU) General Catalogue of 1965-67; "Arizona Historical Foundation Award. A cash award of $100 and a bronze plaque emblematic of the joint contribution of the Indian, Spanish, Mexican and Anglo-American cultures of Arizona, given to a graduating senior in history who has shown outstanding aptitude in Arizona and Southwestern history." The award is still mentioned in the ASU GC of 1968-1971 but no mention is made of the specifics of the award, only that it was awarded to a senior. No mention of the award is found in the GC's prior to the 1965-67 edition or in the 1979-81 and after, so without anything else to go by, I must assume that this plaque was not awarded more than a dozen or so times at ASU (between 1965-1978) and possibly less, if the later awards were just cash. The plaque may have been given out with other AHS awards however... but if it was limited to just one ASU senior per annum for 13 years more or less, then it's a rare piece indeed!