Jan Beekman

Jan Beekman (born 1929) is a Belgian-born American painter. He is the founder of Beekman Foundation.

Early life and education Jan Beekman was born in Meise, Belgium, in 1929. He received formal art education at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, where he studied painting. After relocating to the U.S., Beekman spent a major period living and working in Chicago. During the 1980s and early 1990s, he frequently traveled across the American Southwest, an experience that influenced his artwork. Landscapes such as the Grand Canyon and other desert terrains became central subjects in his work.

After the 1980s, Beekman produced few works featuring human figures, despite his early training in portraiture. One notable exception is his painting The Liberation of Nelson Mandela, completed in 1990. In 1994, the Provincial Museum of Modern Art (PMMK) in Ostend, Belgium, now part of Mu.ZEE, hosted an exhibition of his work. In 1996, the Belgian government selected this painting as an official gift to the United Nations. It was unveiled at the UN Headquarters in New York, where it remains on permanent display. In New England, his artwork found inspiration in the local forests, seasonal changes, and the natural environment. The foundation has offices in Belgium and the United States. It operates a contemporary arts center in Veurne, Flanders that houses a Jan Beekman Permanent Collection of his paintings.