William Jean Beauley was born in 1874, in Joliet, Illinois. In 1891. Beauley was the youngest draftsman working for the
D.H. Burnham and Company architecture firm in Chicago, Illinois. At that time, Burnham was responsible for constructing 150 buildings for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Beauley worked directly under the leadership of Henry Bacon, who had just completed the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.
William Jean Beauley travelled to France and apprenticed with French architect Maurice Yvon. In Paris, he became acquainted with several painters, and began sketching and painting. He returned to the United States and settled in New York City where he studied under Robert Henri at the Chase School. He created oil paintings, watercolor paintings, and various types of prints. His work has been featured in Architectural Digest Magazine.
His professional memberships included the American Art Association of Paris; Architectural League of New York; Art Club of Philadelphia; Cliff Dwellers of Chicago; The Players Club; The Salmagundi Club; The Savage Club of London; Society of Independent Artists; and the Vanderpoel Art Association. During the New Deal in the 1930s, he was registered as a WPA artist. He taught architecture and perspective drawing at The School of Illustration in Chicago, IL.
The art of William Jean Beauley is or has been exhibited and/or offered for sale in museums, galleries and auction houses including but not necessarily limited to the following:
American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, MA
Aspire Auctions, Cleveland, OH
Christie’s, New York City, NY
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
George Glazer Gallery, New York City, NY
Grand Central Palace, New York City, NY
Gray’s Auctioneers, Cleveland, OH
Hindman, Chicago, IL
Jarrett McCusker Gallery, New York City, NY
Kerwin Galleries, Burlingame, CA
Macbeth Gallery, New York City, NY
McCusker Gallery, New York City, NY
Milch Gallery, New York City, NY
Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL
New York Public Library, New York City, NY
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Questroyal Fine Art, New York City, NY
Rago Arts, Lambertville, NJ
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
South Bay Auctions, East Moriches, NY
Spanierman Gallery, New York City, NY
Swann Galleries, New York City, NY
Vanderpoel Art Collection, Chicago, IL
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