The Stranger

Dennis Ray Beall

1957 through early 1958 was a prolific time for Dennis Beall's foray into lithography. Enrolled at San Francisco State College (now San Francisco State University), he created several large format Abstract Expressionist prints, working in transparent inks from one stone to produce each work, and in 1957 was given a show of these lithographs at the East/West Gallery in San Francisco.

At the time, San Francisco was arguably the most magnetic spot in the state of California - indeed, the entire West Coast - for artists looking to explore Abstract Expressionism. The "San Francisco School" and its contribution to the genre has roots in various teachers and institutions that populated San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley. However, printmaking itself experienced a renaissance of its own within the genre, owing in large part to its relative newness in the psyche of the fine art world and, therefore, its lack of rules. Thus, early Dennis Beall works are steeped in the kind of unfettered exploration not afforded to painters and sculptors.

For "The Stranger" he uses the entire stone to lay down heavy, smokey lines in earthen brown and black. There is a sense of walking through a dense thicket toward the daylight, the finger-tip stippled background emulating pinpricks of light suggesting impending change. By 1960 Beall had moved on from lithography to the more precise and dimensional intaglio technique; "The Stranger," then, is a window into his formation of ideas and the physical realization of his emotion.

Dennis Ray Beall was born to Lois and Roy Beall on 13 March 1929 in Chickasha, Oklahoma. The family remained in Chickasha and Dennis graduated from Chickasha High School in 1947. Upon graduation, Beall joined the U.S. Navy which sent him to train at Electronics Material School on Treasure Island off San Francisco. After his training he spent eighteen months in Japan.

After his discharge in 1950, Beall enrolled in the Oklahoma City University and, in 1952, he traveled throughout Europe. He hired onto the crew of an oil tanker in Naples which sailed to ports in the Persian Gulf, France and Italy. With the money he had earned, Beall was able to relocate to California in 1953, where he enrolled at San Francisco State College [now San Francisco State University]. Punctuating his studies with trips to Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, he received his B.A. and M.A. degrees in 1958.

During his course of study at San Francisco State College, Beall produced a body of abstract expressionist color lithographs, which were created from single stones and transparent color washes. In 1957, first solo exhibition at the East/West Gallery in San Francisco featured these lithographs. However, in 1958, Beall turned to intaglio printmaking with the assistance of John Ihle.

Beall was registrar at the Oakland Museum of California briefly in 1958 before becoming a curator at the Achenbach Foundation for the Graphic Arts in San Francisco. He held that position until 1965 when he began his teaching career at San Francisco State University where he taught printmaking. Beall was assistant professor of art between 1965 and 1969, associate professor between 1969 and 1976, and professor of art from 1976 until 1992. He was named Professor Emeritus in 1992. Beall is a member of the California Society of Printmakers and served as president in 1970.