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.   In 1956 he was awarded Naval Aviator Wings.  When he wasn't flying, Bean always enjoyed painting as a hobby.   

Attending night classes at St. Mary's College in Maryland in 1962 during his years as a test pilot at the Naval Air Test Center, Alan experimented with landscapes.  In 1963, Bean was selected as an astronaut.  On space voyages, his artist's eye and talent enabled him to document his impressions so the Moon and space could 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.

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.

Bean was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 12, the fourth man to set foot on the moon, (and the first to eat spaghetti there.)   In 1973, he served as spacecraft commander of the Skylab II Mission, logging a record-breaking fifty-nine days and 24,400,000 miles in space.  He also served as backup commander for the joint American-Russian Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.  Alan also continued to study art, and in 1981 he resigned from NASA to devote himself full-time to painting.  His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries across the country, and is collected by individuals and institutions around the world.