Richard Sternoff Beyer (July 26, 1925 – April 9, 2012) was an American

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

from

Pateros, Washington Pateros is a city in Okanogan County, Washington, United States. The population was 643 at the 2000 census and increased 3.7% to 667 in the 2010 census. History Pateros was originally established as Ive's Landing in around 1886 by Lee Ive ...

. Between 1968 and 2006, Beyer made over 90 sculptures.

Biography

Beyer was born in Washington D.C. on July 26, 1925. He was raised in Virginia and graduated from Fairfax High School in 1943. Beyer enlisted in the U.S. Army in World War II, and served from 1944 to 1946, and was in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

. Beyer earned a degree in social sciences from Columbia University, He moved to Seattle to work on an economics Ph.D. at

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

but did not complete the program. At age 75, in 2001, Beyer suffered a stroke, but he continued to create art. He died in New York City on April 9, 2012, after a stroke.

Work

Beyer was best known for his sculpture '' Waiting for the Interurban'' located in the Fremont neighborhood of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington. The sculpture, which is one of the most popular works of art in Seattle, was commissioned by the

Fremont Arts Council The Fremont Arts Council (FAC) is a community-run organization that supports arts and artists. The Council resides in the Fremont, Seattle, Washington, but its members are from throughout the city. History The Fremont Arts Council was founded ...

and dedicated in 1978. It depicts six people and a dog waiting for the Seattle to Everett

Interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...

, a

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

service that ended in the 1930s. Other sculptures by Beyer include a statue of

Ivar Haglund Ivar Johan Haglund (March 21, 1905 – January 30, 1985) was a Seattle, Washington, Seattle folk music, folk singing, singer, restaurateur and the founder of Ivar's. Background Ivar Johan Haglund was born in Seattle, Washington, the son of pion ...

(''

Ivar Feeding the Gulls ''Ivar Feeding the Gulls'' is an outdoor 1988 bronze and aluminum sculpture by Richard Beyer, installed outside Ivar's Fish Bar by Pier 54, along Seattle's Waterfront in the U.S. state of Washington. The statue depicts Ivar Haglund, who founded ...

'', 1988), several sculptures in Kirkland, Washington, a statue of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

, a sculpture of a

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

sitting on a bench in

Ellensburg, Washington Ellensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It is located just east of the Cascade Range near the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 82 Interstate 82 (I-82) is an Interstate Highway in th ...

, a sculpture of a fisherman kissing a fish in

Des Moines, Washington Des Moines ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 32,888 as of the 2020 census. The city is located on the east shore of Puget Sound, near the center of the Seattle metropolitan area. It is bordered by the ...

, and a sculpture of a kissing couple in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European ...

described as "perhaps Olympia's most popular and well-known piece of public art". '' The Traveler'' (nicknamed "Art") is installed in Bend.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beyer, Richard 1925 births 2012 deaths Columbia College (New York) alumni People from Okanogan County, Washington Sculptors from Washington (state) United States Army soldiers

Biography

Work

Further reading

References

External links