Royal Nebeker

During his 50-year career, internationally recognized Pacific Northwest artist Royal Nebeker (1945–2014) exhibited throughout the United States, and in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, France, and Germany. Nebeker’s paintings and monotypes are dreamlike, with a focus on power and relationships between individuals. His work is noted for highly autobiographical, narrative imagery that often centers on identity, and the power of dream and memory. Nebeker is known for virtuoso paint handling and a gestural style that incorporates text and collage into compositions, which unfold within borders that often suggest a stage. Allusions are an important part of Nebeker’s work and he often included references to philosophy, art history, song lyrics, and literary works by such authors as Henrik Ibsen, Shakespeare, and J.D. Salinger.

Born in San Francisco of Norwegian and Danish-Swiss parents, Nebeker grew up in a household rich in literary and musical traditions. He received his Masters of Fine Art from Brigham Young University in 1969 and a Masters Diploma in 1972 from the National School of Arts and Crafts, Oslo Norway. Later that year, he received a grant to study Edward Munch’s work at the Eckley, Munch’s studio, and the Munch Museum in Oslo. Between 1973 and 1979 he studied in Germany. A decade later, on a sabbatical in Japan, he pursued printmaking. A noted educator who taught over 40 years at Clatsop Community College in Astoria, Nebeker was active advocate for the arts and historic preservation and served as an Oregon Arts Commissioner.

Recently, Nebeker’s paintings and prints have been the subject of a national traveling exhibition at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art in 2016, Schneider Museum of Art in 2014 (catalog with essay by Richard V. West), and Brigham Young University’s Museum of Art in 2013. From 1993 to 1994, the museum of the University of Oregon at Eugene (now the Jordan Schnitzer Museum) presented a retrospective of his work (Royal Nebeker’s Journey, catalogue essay by Steve McGough). In 2004, The Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle and the National Theater of Oslo both presented “Tvert Mort: Images in the Mirror of Ibsen. His work may be found in numerous museum collections nationally and internationally including the Portland, Seattle, and Tacoma Art Museums, the National Gallery of Krakow, Poland, Norway’s Henie/Onstad Art Center, Tamarind Institute, and several universities.