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About Alan Bean
Alan Bean, space Artist, Apollo XII astronaut and Skylab II commander. Born in 1932 in Wheeler, Texas, in 1950 Alan Bean was selected for an NROTC Scholarship at the University of Texas at Austin. After earning a BS degree in Engineering, he was commissioned Ensign in the US Navy in 1955. Holder of eleven world records in space and astronautics as well as numerous national and international honors, Alan Bean has had one of the most distinguished peace-time careers. His awards include two NASA Distinguished Service Medals, two Navy Distinguished Service Medals, the Yuri Gagarin gold Medal and the Robert J. Collier Trophy. As the lunar module pilot in 1969 on Apollo XII, he became the fourth of only twelve men to ever walk on the moon. As the spacecraft commander of Skylab Mission II, he set a world record of 24,400,000 miles in the 59-day flight.
When not flying, Bean always enjoyed painting as a hobby. Beginning with night classes at St. Mary’s college in Maryland in 1962, Alan experimented with landscapes. All during training and between missions as a test pilot and astronaut, he continued private art lessons. Even on trips in space, his artist’s eye and talent enabled him to carry away impressions of the moon and space to later be recorded on canvas.
Bean realized that most of those who actively participated in the incredible adventure of the moon missions would be gone in thirty or forty years. He knew that if any credible artistic impressions were to remain for future generations, he must paint them now. Since 1981, when he resigned his position as Chief of Astronaut Training with NASA, he has devoted himself full time to painting our new frontier.
