Creator Record
Images
Metadata
Name (Artist/Photographer/Author) |
Bewley Jr., Murray Percival |
Other names |
Bewley, Murray |
Role |
Artist |
Caption |
Photo by: Tom Nichols |
Dates of birth and death |
Murray Percival Bewley Jr. was the youngest child born to Murray and Hallie (Samuel) Bewley, two Kentuckians who came to Fort Worth, Texas just before the railroad arrived and transformed it from a stopping-place and into a proper town. |
Nationality |
American |
Places of residence |
Murray Bewley lived in Paris from 1906 until 1913, during which time he continued to study and exhibit at the Salon. In 1913, his mother came to visit him and the two toured Europe and visited Russia. Returning to Fort Worth, he set up a studio there and in 1916 married Bernecia Wrenn. They moved to New York, where he held his first one-man show at Ferargils Gallery, and his paintings were regularly seen in the better galleries there. After the death of both his mother and his wife in 1930, he returned to France. He married Berthe Louise Mireille Laurent at Nice in June, 1933, and they resided there until 1939 when they came to America. Bewley returned to Fort Worth and, in the early 1940's, moved to Beverly Hills, California. In 1956, he and his Mireille returned to Nice. They were living there at 21 Avenue du Monastir in 1964 when he died at the Clinique St. Maurice in Lyon. |
Education |
His father established a flour mill and his label, 'Bewley's Best,' became a household name in Texas and the South. But Murray wasn't interested in business. His passion was art, and in that endeavor his mother was his kindred spirit. She was president of the Fort Worth Art Association from its inception until her death, and purchased and donated many of her son's paintings to what was then the Fort Worth Museum of Art. The first fine artist of Fort Worth, Murray studied at the Denver Art School, Chicago Art Institute, and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. In New York, he was studied with Robert Henri and William Merritt Chase, and accompanied the latter to Florence, Italy. |
Titles & Honors |
Bewley was a member of the Paris-American Artists Association, the Allied Artists of America, the New York Society of Artists, and the Salmagundi Club. His work is represented in the Dallas Museum of Art, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The Amon Carter Museum of American Art at Fort Worth has two Bewley works: a self-portrait (see the hot-link above), and a 1925 piece entitled 'Resignation,' which I believe to be a portrait of his first wife, Bernecia, who later died of tuberculosis. Bewely completed an oil of a small child entitled 'Betty,' likely an image of his daughter. He is said to have done a portrait of his mother, and did numerous nudes of his second wife Mireille who is easily recognizable by her vibrant red hair. You can view some of his works by clicking here. In late 2001, the Old Jail Art Center in Albany, Texas hosted an exhibit entitled "The French Connection: Murray Bewley and James Blake." An illustrated catalogue was published and copies are still able to be found. |
Publications |
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/151203783/murray_p-bewley: accessed May 8, 2025), memorial page for Murray P Bewley (19 Jun 1884–3 Sep 1964), Find a Grave Memorial ID 151203783, citing Semboules Cemetery, Antibes, Departement des Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France; Maintained by Lauren (contributor 50944248). |
Notes |
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/151203783/murray_p-bewley: accessed May 8, 2025), memorial page for Murray P Bewley (19 Jun 1884–3 Sep 1964), Find a Grave Memorial ID 151203783, citing Semboules Cemetery, Antibes, Departement des Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France; Maintained by Lauren (contributor 50944248). |
