Acclaimed collage artist Phoebe Beasley has had numerous solo and group exhibitions in the United States and abroad and was honored by the State Department for her participation in the Arts in Embassies Program.
In 2012, Beasley was one of 44 artists commissioned to create a collage on a life-size bust of the 44th President Barack Obama. And, in 1993, President Clinton presented the Ambassadors of the Diplomatic Corps with one of Beasley's monoprints entitled "Clinton Inaugural" which was accorded the coveted Presidential Seal. It was the second time she had received this honor. The first time was when she produced a commissioned artwork for the inauguration of President George H.W. Bush in 1989.
Beasley's collage artwork was part of two major touring museum exhibitions, including a group show mounted by the Smithsonian Institution entitled In the Spirit of Martin, honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2003). And, Phoebe's work was part of a museum show entitled Portraying Lincoln: Man of Many Faces, based on the life and work of President Lincoln. (2008).
California African American Museum included Beasley's work in its 2011 exhibition Places of Validation: Art and Progression, which was part of the Getty Museum's "Pacific Standard Time" series of shows in Southern California that explored the wide spread impact of artists in this region who worked from 1940 to 1980.
Most recently, several of Beasley's works encompassing different periods are featured in a touring museum exhibition: The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey. And, a two-month retrospective of Phoebe's artwork entitiled Highways to the Heart: A Forty-Year Journey was mounted in 2010 by the M. Hanks Gallery in Santa Monica.
At the end of 1998, Phoebe completed a collaboration with Dr. Maya Angelou on an oversized limited-edition coffee table book comprised of poems by Langston Hughes entitled Sunrise is Coming After While. Dr. Angelou selected the poems, titled the book and wrote the forward and afterword. Beasley created several serigraphs based on the poems. Maya Angelou, a friend and avid collector of Phoebe's artwork, once wrote, "Phoebe Beasley's eye has never failed her, has never lied to her, and her art generously gives us beauty, information and always the truth."
The art created by Phoebe for over four decades graces the homes of Oprah Winfrey, Clarence and Jacqueline Avant, Bill Russell, Carolyn Folks, Byron Allen, Reuben Cannon, Bill and Brenda Galloway, Ken and Pat Harvey-Lombard, Keenan Ivory Wayans, LaTanya and Samuel L. Jackson, Tyler Perry, Dr. William and Yvonne Burke, Roger Penske, Charles and Anne Johnson, Anita Baker, Mike and Corky Hale-Stoller, George and Jean Fraser, Jacquie Wilkinson, Chris and Tara Brancato, Bettye Dixon, Atty. Clarence and Dr. Monet Daniels, Jr., Marla Gibbs, Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, Tom and Sherry Barrat, Abe Thompson, Howard Greenberg Gallery/ NYC, Atty. Marc and Tegra Little, Wanda McKenzie, Atty. Karol Mason, Desiree Rogers, Grant Hill, Atty. Dennis Dowdell, Jr., James and Mary Bell, Rena Bransten Gallery/San Francisco, John and Vicki Roman-Palmer, Ron and Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Estate of Henri Cartier-Bresson...to name a few.
Public and corporate collectors include, among others, the National Public Library, University of Texas, University of Illinois, New York Public Library, Southern University, Johnson Publishing Company, Mystic Seaport Museum, Swarthmore College, Colgate-Palmolive, Fisk University, Neiman-Marcus, Gillette Company, Magic Johnson Enterprises, Absolut Vodka, Kansas African-American Museum, Broadway Federal Bank, Savannah College of Art and Design, Brigham Young University, Hanes Hosiery, California African American Museum and Syracuse University.
Several of Beasley's commissioned artworks include: Outdoor Mural Series for City of Los Angeles (2003), "Official Artwork" Democratic National Convention (2000), "Artist for the Launch" AMISTAD Schooner (2000), Absolut Beasley Magazine Ad (1994) and Absolut Vodka Billboard (1993), created Tennis Trophy and Medal, Summer Olympic Games (1984).
A strong advocate for the arts and recipient of numerous awards, Beasley was honored in 2013 by the California African American Museum with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Visual Arts & Arts Advocacy at their CAAM Gala.
She also received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from her alma mater, Ohio University in 2005, and delivered the commencement address at the morning and afternoon ceremonies. She served on the Board of the Savannah College of Art and Design and devoted 15 years as a Commissioner on the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. (1997-2012) in the most populated county in the nation with eighty-seven cities and over 10 million people.
In February of 2015, Governor Brown appointed Phoebe to the California Arts Council.
Beasley has been honored by several organizations for her charitable work including: The Legacy Ladies Torch Award, Museum of Tolerance/Ford Motor Company with the Southern California Freedom's Sister Award, The HeART Project, Hillsides Center in Pasadena, Victoria Rowell's Foster Children Positive Plan, The Jenesse Center Silver Rose Award and the United Negro College Fund(LA).
With a background as an artist, educator, civic activist and charitable volunteer, Phoebe Beasley is able to draw upon her multi-facted endeavors to create a stunning and memorable body of work.