 arthello beck jr. (july 17, 1941 â november 5, 2004) was an american artist. he often painted scenes of places he had visited, using a variety of mediums, including oils, watercolors, and charcoal. beck was born in dallas, texas, and attended lincoln high school, where he received his only formal art training. afterwards, he worked for the united states postal service, as well as various other jobs before becoming a professional artist. he is possibly known best for his works from the 1960s dealing with the american civil rights movement, although beck commonly featured other subjects, including children, religion, and human interaction, particularly in the african-american community in the southern regions of the united states. a longtime resident of oak cliff, beck was a firm believer in grassroots movements, and established the arthello beck gallery, which became a centerpiece of the dallas area art scene in the 1970s and 80s, and was instrumental to the careers of many black artists. beck was a member of the national conference of artists and the southwest alliance of african american artists, and was one of the founders of the southwest black artists guild.text of house resolution 1760 honoring arthello beck, jr., texas house of representatives, may 24, 2005 ==honors== his paintings and sketches were among those selected for inclusion in a touring exhibition of athlete grant hill's collection of african-american artists. hill, who began collecting art in emulation of his father, calvin hill, particularly cited beck's painting confrontation (1969) as an influence, saying, "i grew up with this painting, and just as my father is attached to it because it reflects the historic struggle of the black male, so am i.""dallas museum of art presents exhibition of grant hillâs collection of african american art &mdash; something all our own: the grant hill collection of african american art, dec. 19, 2004âapril 17, 2005," published dec. 3, 2004 in 2007, a local campaign was organized to rename the south dallas cultural center in beck's honor. although a petition was signed by ove
1941_births 2004_deaths 20th-century_American_painters 21st-century_American_painters African-American_artists Artists_from_Texas People_from_Dallas,_Texas