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Alan Bean—Apollo XII astronaut, commander of Skylab II and artist—was born in 1932 in
Wheeler, Texas. In 1950 he was selected for an NROTC scholarship at the University of
Texas at Austin. In 1955, he was commissioned an ensign in the United States Navy.
Holder of eleven world records in space and astronautics, as well as numerous national and
international honors, Alan Bean has had a most distinguished peacetime career. His awards
include two NASA Distinguished Service Medals, the Yuri Gagarin Gold Medal and the Robert
J. Collier Trophy. As part of the Apollo XII crew, he became the fourth of only twelve men ever
to walk on the Moon. As the spacecraft commander of Skylab Mission II, he set a world record:
24,400,000 miles traveled during the 59-day flight. He has also launched himself successfully
into a new career as an artist.
When he wasn’t flying, Bean always enjoyed painting as a hobby. Attending night classes at
St. Mary’s College in Maryland in 1962, Alan experimented with landscapes. During training
and between missions as a test pilot and astronaut, he continued private art lessons. On
space voyages, his artist’s eye and talent enabled him to document impressions of the Moon
and space to be preserved later on canvas. His art reflects the attention to detail of the
aeronautical engineer, the respect for the unknown of the astronaut and the unabashed
appreciation of a skilled painter.
The space program has seen unprecedented achievements and Bean realized that most of
those who participated actively in this adventure would be gone in forty years. He knew that if
any credible artistic impressions were to remain for future generations, he must paint them
now. “My decision to resign from NASA in 1981 was based on the fact that I am fortunate
enough to have seen sights no other artist ever has,” Bean said, “and I hope to communicate
these experiences through art.”
Bean’s book Apollo: An Eyewitness Account which chronicles his first-person experience as
an Apollo astronaut in words and paintings was received with critical and popular acclaim
upon its publication in 1998.
Wheeler, Texas. In 1950 he was selected for an NROTC scholarship at the University of
Texas at Austin. In 1955, he was commissioned an ensign in the United States Navy.
Holder of eleven world records in space and astronautics, as well as numerous national and
international honors, Alan Bean has had a most distinguished peacetime career. His awards
include two NASA Distinguished Service Medals, the Yuri Gagarin Gold Medal and the Robert
J. Collier Trophy. As part of the Apollo XII crew, he became the fourth of only twelve men ever
to walk on the Moon. As the spacecraft commander of Skylab Mission II, he set a world record:
24,400,000 miles traveled during the 59-day flight. He has also launched himself successfully
into a new career as an artist.
When he wasn’t flying, Bean always enjoyed painting as a hobby. Attending night classes at
St. Mary’s College in Maryland in 1962, Alan experimented with landscapes. During training
and between missions as a test pilot and astronaut, he continued private art lessons. On
space voyages, his artist’s eye and talent enabled him to document impressions of the Moon
and space to be preserved later on canvas. His art reflects the attention to detail of the
aeronautical engineer, the respect for the unknown of the astronaut and the unabashed
appreciation of a skilled painter.
The space program has seen unprecedented achievements and Bean realized that most of
those who participated actively in this adventure would be gone in forty years. He knew that if
any credible artistic impressions were to remain for future generations, he must paint them
now. “My decision to resign from NASA in 1981 was based on the fact that I am fortunate
enough to have seen sights no other artist ever has,” Bean said, “and I hope to communicate
these experiences through art.”
Bean’s book Apollo: An Eyewitness Account which chronicles his first-person experience as
an Apollo astronaut in words and paintings was received with critical and popular acclaim
upon its publication in 1998.
Alan Bean
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