Background
Fred Beaver was born in Eufaula, Oklahoma. His Muscogee name was Ekalanee, meaning "Brown Head." He was the son of Willie Beaver and Annie Johnson, was raised in Eufaula, and attended the Eufaula High School.
Fred Beaver was born in Eufaula, Oklahoma. His Muscogee name was Ekalanee, meaning "Brown Head." He was the son of Willie Beaver and Annie Johnson, was raised in Eufaula, and attended the Eufaula High School.
Before Beaver had attended grade school, he was not able to speak any English and became a self-taught artist throughout the years of school. He had attended the Haskell Business College after graduating from Bacone in 1935.
He had become the All-State football and basketball star player. Graduating from high school in 1931, Beaver went straight into college at Bacone College. Beaver was an important part of the early Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
Beaver really had no art training at Bacone while he was there and gave up his art career during the Great Depression and went to serve in World World War World War II
He helped define traditional Oklahoma Indian art with his style that he created.
He started defining traditional painting of the Five Civilized Tribes. Beaver was one of the first artists to be designated as "Master Artists" of the Five Civilized Tribes Museum.
He was able to make a living off his artwork full-time and became more aware of the detail that was put into the paintings. The Creek and Seminole artists were starting to question the work he was doing that represented the tribes" cultures.
But his work is very accurate in the images, such as chickees and patchwork in clothing.
He has been interviewed at the University of Florida for The Southeastern Indian Oral History Project, which was in collaboration with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Beaver designed three medallions for the Franklin Mint"s celebration of the United States Bicentennial in 1976. I wanted to change the non-Indian"s image of my people, and I wanted to help my own people understand themselves, especially the young.