
Lester Gene Hatfield, who went by the
mononym
A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person.
A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...
Gene, was an artist and professor at the
University of Central Arkansas
The University of Central Arkansas (Central Arkansas or UCA) is a public university in Conway, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1907, the university is one of the oldest in the state. As the state's only normal school at the time, UCA has hist ...
(UCA) in
Conway
Conway may refer to:
Places
United States
* Conway, Arkansas
* Conway County, Arkansas
* Lake Conway, Arkansas
* Conway, Florida
* Conway, Iowa
* Conway, Kansas
* Conway, Louisiana
* Conway, Massachusetts
* Conway, Michigan
* Conway Townshi ...
,
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
. He was born on November 23, 1925, and died on February 18, 2017. Hatfield was recognized with several awards throughout his career, including the
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
Arts Council Governor's
Lifetime Achievement Award
Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions.
Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include:
A
* A.C. ...
, an Arkansas Senate Citation, and a
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
for his service in World War II.
Hatfield was an artist who worked with various mediums including
watercolor
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...
,
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...
,
acrylic
Acrylic may refer to:
Chemicals and materials
* Acrylic acid, the simplest acrylic compound
* Acrylate polymer, a group of polymers (plastics) noted for transparency and elasticity
* Acrylic resin, a group of related thermoplastic or thermosettin ...
,
pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
,
stage sets, and
sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
. He was well known in
Conway
Conway may refer to:
Places
United States
* Conway, Arkansas
* Conway County, Arkansas
* Lake Conway, Arkansas
* Conway, Florida
* Conway, Iowa
* Conway, Kansas
* Conway, Louisiana
* Conway, Massachusetts
* Conway, Michigan
* Conway Townshi ...
for his unique yard, which was adorned with sculptures made from various found objects such as bicycles, soda cans, mops, tin foil, and more.
Hatfield's famous outdoor art environment was the result of over forty years of working with unconventional materials. His sculpture style incorporated elements of
surrealism
Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
and
folk art
Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...
, while his paintings were influenced by traditional late-nineteenth-century artists like
Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century a ...
.
With a long tenure as a professor and contributor to UCA, Hatfield was an important part of Arkansas’ art culture.
Early life and education
Hatfield was born on November 23, 1925, in Conway,
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
, to Lester and Gertrude Powers Hatfield. His father was a building contractor. The financial setback of 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 ...
caused the family to move from Conway to Mount Vernon, Arkansas, Lester and Gertrude's hometown. The Hatfield family returned to Conway in 1937. Hatfield graduated from Conway High School in 1942 and enrolled at
Arkansas State Teachers College (which later became the University of Central Arkansas) in the fall of 1942. Hatfield was one of the few male students on campus, as he began school during World War II. After three semesters in college, Hatfield was drafted into the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
in January 1944. Hatfield completed his basic training at
Fort Benning, Georgia
Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...
, and received additional training at
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...
. In September 1944, he was sent to France, where he landed at
Marseilles
Marseille (; ; see below) is a city in southern France, the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean S ...
. His unit camped in a field outside Marseilles until they were picked up by Army trucks and taken to the front lines. While in northern France, Hatfield's unit fought in the
Vosges Mountains
The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian (linguistics), Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its France–Germany border, border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the bor ...
to the
Rhine River
The Rhine ( ) is one of the major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Cons ...
. In April 1945, during combat, Hatfield suffered a severe shrapnel injury from an anti-tank grenade, which exploded in a tree near him. The shrapnel caused severe injuries to his face and just missed his left eye. At a field hospital near
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
, Germany, a surgeon removed all the shrapnel. He was then sent to a hospital in
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...
, where he recovered. For his injury Hatfield received the
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
.
For his wartime service he also received the
Bronze Star
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.
Wh ...
and a Medal of Meritorious Conduct. After he received an honorable discharge from the Army, Hatfield again enrolled in college and in the summer of 1947 he received a Bachelor of Science in Education from Arkansas State Teachers College. He then studied art in graduate school at the
University of Northern Colorado
The University of Northern Colorado (UNCO or UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado, United States. It was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education.
The institution has offi ...
in Greely, Colorado, where he earned a Master of Arts degree in art.
Career
Hatfield began his career as a professor of art at the
University of Central Arkansas
The University of Central Arkansas (Central Arkansas or UCA) is a public university in Conway, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1907, the university is one of the oldest in the state. As the state's only normal school at the time, UCA has hist ...
(UCA) on September 1, 1948. He was hired at an annual salary of $2,400. Marie Schichtl was the head of the UCA
Department of Art at that time. Hatfield continued his education during the
summer
Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...
months, taking advanced classes in Saint Ives, England, and in Paris, Fontainebleau, and Aix-en-Provence, France. He had a long career teaching in the UCA Department of Art, spanning 37 years before retiring in 1985. In recognition of his contributions, the UCA Board of Trustees awarded Gene Hatfield the title of Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Art in 1995.
In 1957, Hatfield married Nicole Wable in Montreuil
Sur-Mer,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, and together they had three children named Hadrian, Marc, and
Mathilda. Both Hadrian and Mathilda received their degrees from the University of Central Arkansas, while Marc also attended college there before graduating from the University of Arkansas.
Even after retiring, Hatfield remained deeply interested in the University of Central Arkansas and its many events. He frequently visited the campus and engaged in conversations with professors and students, but his true passion remained art.
Following retirement, Hatfield became well known for his yard filled with sculptures surrounding his home on
Donaghey Avenue. In a conversation with the author, Hatfield shared that he felt guided by angels when he painted portraits or worked on sculptures. He remained active in art until just a few months before his passing. Hatfield died on February 18, 2017, at the age of 91.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatfield, Gene
1925 births
2017 deaths
University of Central Arkansas faculty
United States Army personnel of World War II
University of Northern Colorado alumni
People from Conway, Arkansas