Gene Hatfield

rdf:langString Gene Hatfield

rdf:langString Lester Gene Hatfield (November 23, 1925 – February 18, 2017), known as Gene, was a lifetime artist and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Art at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas. Hatfield was also a recipient of the Arkansas Arts Council Governor's Lifetime Achievement Award, an Arkansas Senate Citation, and a Purple Heart in addition to other various awards for his art and service. Hatfield worked primarily in watercolor, oil, acrylic, pottery, stage sets, and various types of sculpture. He was perhaps best known locally for his unique yard filled with sculptures made from various found objects ranging from bicycles, to soda cans, to mops, to tin foil, and more. His famous eclectic outdoor art environment was a result of over forty years of working with materials that most people call “junk” or “trash” and turning it into works of art. Hatfield incorporated aspects of surrealism and folk art into his unique sculptures while more traditional late-nineteenth-century artists such as Paul Cézanne influenced his paintings. With a long tenure as an Art Teacher and contributor to UCA, Hatfield was an important part of Arkansas’ art culture.