Bill Nebeker

Almost a quarter of a century has passed since Bill Nebeker was first invited in 2000 to be a participating artist in the Autry Museum’s Masters of the American West Art Exhibition and Sale. “What a magnificent and rewarding journey I’ve had at Masters these 24 years.”

Nebeker has been an active member of Cowboy Artists of America since 1978, giving him the title of the longest active member in its 57-year history. He was the youngest member when he was inducted as a member of the group, and now he is the most senior in age and years serving.

On March 19, 2022, the Phippen Museum of Western Art in Prescott, Arizona, opened a 50-year retrospective exhibition, If Horses Could Talk—The Art of Bill Nebeker CA. It displayed over 100 bronze sculptures created from 1967 to 2021 as well as historic documents, photos, memorabilia, videos, and cowboy & Native peoples collectibles. The exhibition ran through July 24, 2022.

In 2022, Nebeker was commissioned to sculpt an eight-foot-tall bronze portrait of Prescott’s own WWI fighter pilot hero, Ernest A. Love. Love grew up in Prescott and was shot down and killed in the skies over France. Nebeker’s sculpture will stand in front of the new terminal at the Prescott Regional Airport, overlooking the Ernest A. Love Field. The bronze will be completed and installed in the summer of 2023.

Nebeker’s bronze sculptures are in the permanent collections of the Booth Western Art Museum; Briscoe Western Art Museum; Cheyenne Old West Museum; Desert Caballeros Museum; Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art; Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, Texas; National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum; Palm Springs Art Museum; Pearce Museum at Navarro College; Phippen Western Art Museum; and Phoenix Art Museum.

Bill Nebeker is represented by the Broadmoor Galleries, Colorado Springs, Colorado; Mountain Spirit Gallery, Prescott, Arizona; Texas Treasures Fine Art, Boerne, Texas; and Trailside Galleries–online.