KLIR BECK, ARTIST AND WILDLIFE ADVOCATE

Photo at left is Klir Beck at his Vienna sanctuary, with some White-Tailed Deer he restored to health. Compliments of Vienna Historical Society

Klir Beck was born 1892 in Pittsburg, PA to Conrad & Bertha Beck. The family moved to California before Klir turned ten where they settled near San Francisco. There, Conrad worked as head of the art department at Schmidt Lithograph Company for nearly fifty years while also painting landscapes and still lifes. Klir followed in his father’s footsteps as an accomplished artist. 

By 1919, Klir was residing in Manhattan, NYC when he married Blanche (Wilcox). He continued his education there while working as an artist until 1924 when they decided to move to Maine, purchasing land on the shore of Flying Pond in Vienna. There he designed a house named “the Gnomes” (pictured at left) that was considered to be an artistic masterpiece and eventually placed on the National Register 
of Historic Places. Unfortunately it burned some years ago. He established a wildlife sanctuary at the Gnomes for injured deer and nursed them back to health, then released them on Swan Island in the Kennebec River or in Baxter State Park. The Becks never had children of their own but graciously welcomed in families with youngsters who wished to visit their sanctuary – a favorite Sunday outing for local families. He also established a workshop and studio on Church St. in Mt Vernon.

In 1929 the Becks moved to Washington D.C. where he became a poster artist for the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) during the Great Depression.  In that era he also designed displays for the National Museum of Natural History and the Key West Aquarium in Florida.

By 1935, the Becks had returned to Maine and he began working for the Maine Development Commission, as well as for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. For that department he created a series of posters (one is pictured on the left) that depicted sportsmen abusing natural resources. Among Beck’s many works was the Maine Exhibit at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, to which he took two Readfield men to assist him - Merle Pinkham and Edgar Luce. Beck also designed the Maine exhibits for the Northeast Sportsmen Shows from 1937 until the 1960s. 

In the 1950s Beck became the Director and Curator of the Maine State Museum. It was during this time he created four life-sized, wildlife dioramas depicting the four seasons. Beck painted the curved plaster shells with outdoor scenes and created settings with a variety of preserved wildlife specimens. The South wing of the State Capital building was the site of the Old Museum until 1971 when the current “Maine State Museum, Library and Archives” was unveiled to the public. However, Beck’s four dioramas remained in the State Capital building and were eventually moved from the South Wing to the tunnel between the Capital Building and the Cross office building. Klir Beck died in 1966, before the new Maine State Museum opened its doors, but the displays in the newer Museum include impressive wildlife dioramas that depict Maine’s outdoors from its shore to the mountains. All inspired by the great artist Klir Beck.

Dale Potter-Clark researches and writes about local Maine history and its people. To read more of her stories about some local artists from the past visit artistsofmaine.blogspot.com.