artists BIO

Tom Beecham

Tom Beecham (1926 - 2000)

Tom Beecham was a representational painter and illustrator of western, wildlife, and historical scenes. He created work for major publishing companies including Reader's Digest, Bantam Books, National Geographic, Outdoor Life, Field and Stream, and Remington Arms Calendars. During his 30-year career, he painted about 360 paintings, with 12 published each year as prints and calendars.

Born in 1926, Tom grew up in Grand Junction, Colorado.  From his youth he loved to hunt mule deer, bobcat, sage grouse, elk and bear. Another passion was running wild horses. But, his greatest love was painting the animals he saw. A great part of his early education was hearing firsthand, stories of old Civil War soldiers, Indian Fighters, and cowboys who made some of the big cattle drives in the area.

He graduated in 1944, joined the Navy, after which he served in the South Pacific during World War II. Upon returning stateside, Tom was accepted at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts, where he studied to be an illustrator. Later, the publishers of the Remington works featured Beecham's work including line drawings, original sketches, and paintings during the 1990's. 

He was a member of the Society of Animal Artists and served as President of the Society of American Historical Artists. Several of Tom's children followed in his footsteps becoming artists. Greg Beecham and Susan Beecham are both wildlife painters.