Byron Gordon McKeeby (1936-1984) was an American artist, educator and master printmaker known primarily for

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

. McKeeby's interest dovetailed with a burgeoning contemporary community in advancing lithography as an art form. He was active in all form of print exhibition. He built a full scope printmaking department of rank at the University of Tennessee that exists today.

Biography

Early years

McKeeby, son of Byron J. and Miriam McKeeby, was born on February 27, 1936, in

Humboldt, Iowa Humboldt is a city in Humboldt County, Iowa, United States. The population was 4,792 at the time of the 2020 census, gaining 102 people over the 2010 total. History Frank A. Gotch Park (just south of present-day Humboldt and Dakota City) was ...

, later growing up in

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in u ...

, IA. Growing up after the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

1940s, McKeeby knew the hardships of the day, particularly after his father died while he was still a teenager. McKeeby's youth, however, was enriched by his mother's interest in art, particularly

Rosa Bonheur Rosa Bonheur (born Marie-Rosalie Bonheur; 16 March 1822 – 25 May 1899) was a French artist known best as a painter of animals (animalière). She also made sculptures in a Realism (arts), realist style. Her paintings include ''Ploughing in the N ...

. McKeeby was the grandson of Byron H. McKeeby, a Cedar Rapids dentist, who posed as the farmer in Grant Wood's ''

American Gothic ''American Gothic'' is a 1930 oil on beaverwood painting by the American Regionalist artist Grant Wood. Depicting a Midwestern farmer and his wife or daughter standing in front of their Carpenter Gothic style home, ''American Gothic'' is one ...

''. Ultimately he referenced this relationship in an untitled, uneditioned lithograph (embedded with the wording 'The American Farmer Can Grow Just About Anything') known to be from 1984, which features his grandfather, Byron H. McKeeby's image.

Education

Like his parents, McKeeby was a

Coe College Coe College is a private liberal arts college in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It was founded in 1851 and is historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The college is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and the Associati ...

graduate and while at Coe he became interested in art through Professor Marvin Cone, who was a lifelong friend of painter

Grant Wood Grant DeVolson Wood (February 13, 1891February 12, 1942) was an American artist and representative of Regionalism (art), Regionalism, best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. He is particularly well known for ''America ...

. Years later in a Coe College interview McKeeby acknowledged that Cone was "an extraordinary human, and a lasting influence on his life". Upon graduating Coe College in 1959 he proceeded to the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

where he studied painting, graduating with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

in 1963. Several of his class contemporaries, one of which was

Jim Nutt James T. Nutt (born November 28, 1938) is an American artist who was a founding member of the Chicago surrealist art movement known as the Chicago Imagists, or the Hairy Who. Though his work is inspired by the same pop culture that inspired ...

, ultimately formed

The Hairy Who The Chicago Imagists are a group of representational artists associated with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago who exhibited at the Hyde Park Art Center in the late 1960s. Their work was known for grotesquerie, Surrealism and complete in ...

, a group reflective of the 1960s independence of American art. Subsequently, McKeeby earned a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

studying with innovative printmaker Jim Steg, it was there his interest and rising success as a lithographer was realized. His Master's thesis paper focused on the macabre in art, entitled, "The Grotesque as a Positive Element in Art". A representative image from that time is "Okina". Post M.F.A. McKeeby was awarded a

Tamarind Institute Tamarind Institute is a lithography workshop created in 1960https://tamarind.unm.edu/about/history/ as a division of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM, United States. It began as Tamarind Lithography Workshop, a California non-profi ...

Artist-Teacher Fellow in 1965 where he was mentored by

Garo Antreasian Garo Zareh Antreasian (1922 – 2018) was an American printmaker and educator. He was one of the co-founders of the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles, California. Biography Antreasian was born on February 16, 1922, in Indianapolis, In ...

deepening his interest and expertise in

Lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

. During this time two lithographic prints, Monogatari and Okina, were produced. McKeeby detailed his work as found in the Tamarind Print Record Archives. The record includes the specifics of the

lithographic limestone Lithographic limestone is hard limestone that is sufficiently fine-grained, homogeneous and defect-free to be used for lithography. Geologists use the term "lithographic texture" to refer to a grain size under 1/250 mm. The term "sublitho ...

grain, transfer and drawing materials, notes on etching and printing as well as notes of any surface treatment. McKeeby credits Antreasian (co-author of The Tamarind Book of Lithography; Art & Technique) with an 'acid tint' method. The record of edition printing reveals specific color runs, paper types such as

Arches paper Arches paper is a brand of air-dried paper that is used by printers and watercolorists. It has a warm white colour and is produced in hot-pressed, cold-pressed, and rough varieties. Arches paper is made in the village of Arches in the Vosges, France ...

, and the print edition including proofs such as bon à tirer, printer's,

Artist's proof An artist's proof is an impression (copy) of a limited edition (printmaking), edition print that is reserved for the artist and not counted in the edition number. It is usually pencilled as "A/P" to indicated this. By convention they are not usuall ...

, trial, Tamarind, cancellation, or presentation proofs as well as the final edition size. The records also reveal the artist's creative hand side-by-side with the rigor of producing professional prints. Particular to McKeeby, the Tamarind record shows his interest in experimentation as part of the creative process. This approach became visible in the span of his life's art work and his approach in teaching. McKeeby’s Tamarind edition lithographs also fell under the Tamarind Collector’s Agreement (1961-1965), where the first seven sets were sold to collectors with six month subscriptions. The guiding principles of the Tamarind Institute of creating master artist-printers, embracing diversity of style and fostering collaboration were employed in Fall of 1965 when McKeeby joined the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

, Knoxville, Art Department (now called the School of Art). There he became professor and head of the printmaking program until his death.

Family

McKeeby and Ana McKeeby were married from 1964 to 1981, with two sons. Upon McKeeby's death on November 3, 1984, in Knoxville, Tennessee of

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, he left sons Paulo and Neal, who had influenced his imagery.

Career

Educator

As an educator, McKeeby taught all levels and aspects of

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...

during his tenure. Students in his printmaking classes learned lithography,

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...

viscosity printing Viscosity printing is a multi-color printmaking technique that incorporates principles of relief printing and intaglio printing. It was pioneered by Stanley William Hayter. The process uses the principle of viscosity to print multiple colors of ...

linocut Linocut, also known as lino print, lino printing or linoleum art, is a printmaking technique, a variant of relief printing in which a sheet of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for a relief printing, relief surface. A design i ...

wood engraving Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and prints using relatively l ...

collagraphy Collagraphy (sometimes spelled collography) is a printmaking process in which materials are glued or sealed to a rigid substrate (such as paperboard or wood) to create a plate. Once inked, the plate becomes a tool for imprinting the design onto p ...

screen printing Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen in a "flood stroke ...

and

monotyping Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface, or matrix (printing), matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to a ...

. His expertise and teaching style was epitomized by then Art Department Head, Donald F. Kurka, as being 'dedicated to a professional standard of printmaking' and having 'a high tolerance toward divergent attitudes'. Influencing McKeeby was his education and contemporary printmakers pushing technical experimentation. In support of this McKeeby hosted workshops with academic and professional printmakers, such as

Donald Saff Donald Jay Saff (born 12 December 1937) is an artist, art historian, educator, and lecturer, specializing in the fields of contemporary art in addition to American and English horology. Early life Saff was born in Brooklyn, New York to Irving an ...

, for student benefit. In 1981 the university built a new Art & Architecture building; it was opportunity for McKeeby to design a state-of-the-art printshop in support of teaching and creation. Subsequent Printmaking Professor, Beauvais Lyons, credited McKeeby's open studio design that accommodates traditional and experimental techniques in a 2015 statement "The open plan encourages a climate of experimentation and the use of all techniques". Further realization of the concept became part of "the incorporation of computer methods in print education".

Artist

McKeeby's work was dominated by black and white lithographs. His interest lead him to personally advance what had nearly become a dying art of stone lithography.

Drawing Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...

was essential for McKeeby, evidenced in the retrospective exhibit title, however, he often used experimentation techniques such as acetone transfer of printed images. Early works incorporated transfer images with drawn compositions. His lifetime of work defied singular categorization; Art Historian Dale G Cleaver described McKeeby's art as 'posited dualities of existence: the contrasts of good and evil, compassion and violence, mechanical and organic, esoteric and mundane' which 'didn't fit any contemporary styles'. McKeeby's art was also referred to as puckish, mischievously playful. His interest spanned social issues, the natural world, language and through his personal use of imagery he achieved humor and satire. McKeeby's creative process was observed and commented upon by fellow printmaker, Brian R. Wells, as 'He was absorbed in the difference between improvisation and thinking a piece through'. Career-long McKeeby was active in exhibit competition and shown by invitation, his record was regional, national and international; he was awarded the Chairman's Prize at the 1983 International Biennial Print Exhibit ROC in

Taipei, Taiwan , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

. McKeeby was described as prodigious by fellow Art Department faculty F. Clark Stewart and in total McKeeby amassed 200 group exhibitions and 19 one—man shows over twenty-two years.

Posthumous Retrospective

Indicative of McKeeby's energy and inertia, and at the time of his sudden death, the beginnings of an invitational show of printmakers and their student's work entitled "Printmakers Select Printmakers" was in progress. The Art Department with Gallery Directory Sam Yates' guidance from having worked with McKeeby on the invitational, realized the show in McKeeby's honor February 22- March 16, 1985. Donald F Kurka wrote in dedication "Ironically, with his untimely death in November 1984, he unwittingly created his own memorial and final tribute to the major passion of his life: printmaking. It would be hard to imagine a more appropriate way to honor and exemplify his lifelong commitment to the field than to bring together the work of some of America's best printmakers and the work of some of their present and former students. His respect and support for his printmaking colleagues across the nation and, in turn, their influence on a new generation of printmakers demonstrate through the exhibition, Byron's devotion to printmaking in America and its future. His life's work centered around making prints, teaching others to make prints and supporting his fellow printmakers. An artist's artist, a teacher's teacher, as a totally committed colleague, Byron had few equals. His personal integrity and the force of his dedication made all of us work harder, be truer to the best in ourselves and, above all, make art, not just talk art. He selected this invitational show on those same principles - choosing people who are equally engaged in their art as demonstrated through the quality of what they produce." In 1986 the Ewing Gallery, School of Art at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, mounted a posthumous retrospective exhibit entitled ''Byron McKeeby : prints and drawings from 1964-1984'' held February 16 - March 20, 1986. The exhibit comprised sixty-six framed works selected from McKeeby's personal oeuvre by Art Historian Dale G. Cleaver who also wrote the catalog essay; the exhibit was coordinated by Gallery Director Sam Yates. After opening in Knoxville, the exhibit traveled primarily through the southeast. An exhibit catalog was produced featuring a six-page essay with 20 black and white plates. The color cover reproduction is of a 1979 McKeeby viscosity print, Untitled(frog). Additionally McKeeby was honored during the 20th Annual Southern Graphics Council Conference, March 19–21, 1992, with a show of thirty retrospective prints. A reception and talk, 'A Tribute To Byron McKeeby', by Dale Cleaver honored McKeeby's art, leadership, professional accomplishments, high standards and teaching.

Permanent collections

* The largest repository of McKeeby artwork is browsable through th
Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
Below is a chronological list of McKeeby artwork in all permanent collections
'Untitled'
Intaglio, 1963, Dallas Museum of Art, Contemporary Collection

Lithographs, 1965, National Gallery of Art, additionally Okina a
New Mexico's Digital Collections, Tamarind Institute Catalog Raissone
th
Norton Simon Museum
th
Amon Carter Museum of American Art
and Monogatari a
New Mexico's Digital Collections, Tamarind Institute Catalog Raissone
th
Norton Simon Museum
th
Amon Carter Museum of American Art
and th
'Los Angeles County Museum of Art'

'Ice Cream Truck'
Lithograph, 1966, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection and th
Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas

'The Great Operator'
Lithograph, 1966, Knoxville Museum of Art
'Casi Muerte y Casi Piedre'
Lithograph, 1966, Knoxville Museum of Art
Untitled
Oil paint and collage on masonite, 1966, Knoxville Museum of Art
'Sometimes We Cast a White Shadow'
Intaglio, 1966, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'15 Ways an Airline'
Lithograph, 1967, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Easter Altar'
Lithograph, 1967, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection and th
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts

'Intersection'
Lithograph, 1967, Brooklyn Museum, Contemporary Art Collection
'Untitled (Astronaut Helmet with World Map)
Lithograph, 1967, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Untitled (Breastplate with Mechanical Arms and Scissor Hands)'
Lithograph, 1968, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Crab'
Lithograph, 1968, Knoxville Museum of Art * 'One Ticket Airline', Lithograph, 1968, Brigham Young University Museum of Art
'Row Row Row'
Lithograph, 1968, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'X-U2'
Lithograph, 1968, Knoxville Museum of Art
'Angry Rabbits'
Graphite Drawing, 1969, Chrysler Museum of Art
'Biafra'
Lithograph, 1969, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Black Garuda'
Lithograph, 1969, Knoxville Museum of Art
'Study for All Bullets are Alike'
Drawing (graphite, magazine transfer and litho crayon on paper), 1969, Kruizenga Art Museum
'Hey Diddle Fiddle'
Lithograph, 1970, Georgia State Art Collection
High Resolution Image

'Untitled (Self Portrait with Prints)'
Lithograph, 1971, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Light Bugs'
Lithograph, 1972, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Scissors and Tred'
Color Lithograph, 1972, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Thermometer'
Lithograph, 1972, Tennessee Arts Commission Permanent Collection
'Hatters'
Lithograph, 1973, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Trinity'
Lithograph, 1973, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'22 Collection'
Lithograph, 1974, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Holding Line'
Lithograph, 1974, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Pince Nez'
Lithograph, 1974, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Reclining Line'
Lithograph, 1974, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Untitled (Fish)'
Lithograph, 1974, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Listen'
Color Lithograph, 1975, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Murex'
Lithograph, 1975, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Vanishing Word'
Lithograph, 1975, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Untitled, Two Boar-Like Animals'
1976, Lithograph, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Balloon'
Lithograph, 1978, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Untitled (4 and 20 Blackbirds)'
Lithograph, 1978, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Hopscoth 2'
Lithograph, 1978, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Key'
Lithograph, 1978, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Locked Collection'
Lithograph, 1978, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Popcorn'
Lithograph, 1978, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Which Lens I View'
Lithograph, 1979, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Untitled (Frog)'
Intaglio (viscosity print), 1979,Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Adolescence'
Intaglio, 1980, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Armadomino'
Intaglio, 1980, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Infant Time'
Intaglio, 1982, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Decoy'
Woodcut, 1982, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Untitled (Self-Portrait With Masks)'
Lithograph, 1983, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Untitled (The American Farmer Can Grow Just About Anything)
Lithograph, 1984, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection Without Date
'Untitled (Bird in Hand, Bird on Thumb)'
Intaglio, no date, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Untitled (Hands and Piano Keys)'
Woodcut, no date, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Untitled (Man Facing Chair)'
Intaglio, no date, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Untitled (Man Facing Chair With A Bird)'
Intaglio, no date, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Untitled (Polar Bears On Cubes)'
an
'Untitled (Polar Bear On Cubes)'
Woodcuts, no date, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Untitled (Polar Bears Nose to Nose)'
Lithograph, no date, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Untitled (Sheep and Hurdler)'
Intaglio, no date, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Untitled (Three Flowers Rising From A Box)'
Intaglio, no date, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
'Untitled (Three Monkeys)'
Lithograph, no date, Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection