Burford, Byron

Byron Burford

Noted artist and musician Byron Leslie Burford passed away in his sleep Friday evening, June 17, 2011, at the age of 90.

Byron was born in Jackson, Miss., on July 12, 1920, and grew up in Greenville, Miss., along with contemporaries Shelby Foote and Walker Percy. Byron's interest in the circus and sideshows was piqued when The Tom Mix Circus came to Greenville In the early ‘30s. Byron's father, who ran the Greenville YMCA, invited the show people to use the pool and showers at the Y. It was there that Byron met Tom Mix, the cowboy legend, and wrangled an invitation to join the Tom Mix Circus for a few days. Byron's father agreed to let him go, assuming he would quickly lose interest, but it was instead a seminal moment and the beginning of his lifelong fascination with the circus.

In 1933, Byron's father took him to the Chicago World's Fair where they also visited the Art Institute. Byron was so impressed by the paintings that he recalled,” I did not know what these things were. They were huge, that big El Greco was 30 feet high. They had no relationship to anything I'd seen. And I said I don't know who did these or what they are but that's what I want to do the rest of my life.”

When it came time to go to college Byron had a choice of scholarships to either Yale or Iowa. Because he recalled seeing American Gothic at the Chicago Art Institute, he chose Iowa where he studied under Grant Wood and Philip Guston. Having received his B.F.A. in 1943, he began his M.F.A. studies when war broke out. Byron volunteered for the Army Air Corps and in 1944, while still in the service, he returned to Iowa, where he married fellow student Kathleen “Kay” Kane from Dubuque. In 1947, he completed his M.F.A. and at the urging of Grant Wood, accepted a job as a faculty member at the University of Iowa Art Department.

In the 1950s, while on the Iowa faculty and raising a family, Byron moonlighted both as a jazz musician and as a magician touring Midwestern movie theatres with his spook show Dr. Caligari's Cabinet of Horrors. These two pursuits were the fulfillment of boyhood dreams and experiences, having been exposed to black jazz musicians and itinerant magicians at a young age. Byron loved music as much as he loved painting and magic as much as he loved music.

His dreamlike paintings and prints containing imagery of circus performers, magicians, musicians, polar explorers and the devastation of war gleaned him numerous awards and honors, including a J.S. Guggenheim Fellowship and four Ford Foundation grants. He had many one-man shows and is represented in 65 collections, including the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. In 1968, Byron was invited to represent the United States in the prestigious Venice Biennale.

Byron had a lifelong dream of owning a circus. When he toyed with the idea of purchasing a small one in the 1960s, his wife, Kay, suggested he create one. Thus, the hugely successful Great Byron Burford Circus of Artistic Wonders was born. Byron painted dozens of motorized life-size canvas-covered figures, included a life-size elephant, put them under a canvas tent and toured the Midwest in the 1970s under the sponsorship of the National Endowment of the Arts.

Byron continued to teach both at Iowa and as a Visiting Artist at several academic institutions. He continued to teach until his retirement in 1986, influencing thousands of students. He continued to produce numerous works of art in his home studio as a Professor Emeritus. As fellow art faculty member John Dilg stated, “Byron taught art is not just ‘something on a wall,' it comes from your life experience.” Byron was much-loved and adored by all who knew him.

Byron was preceded in death by his wife, Kathleen “Kay” Kane; and is survived by his children, Kathy Burford Lewis of Austin, Texas, and Kevin S. Burford, JoAnna “Nana” Burford, and grandchild, Madeline K. Burford, all of Iowa City.

Memorials may be sent to KCCK Jazz Radio, the NAACP or the Elephant Sanctuary.

An informal remembrance will be held at the home of Kevin and Helen Burford, 528 E. College St., Iowa City, on Friday, June 24, starting at 5 p.m.

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