Subject: [All Staff] Remembering Robert Bechtle
From: Presidents Office <[email-masked]>
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2020 15:58:41 -0700
List-Id: <allstaff.cca.edu>

Dear CCA Community,

It is with great sadness that I share the news that Robert Bechtle,
esteemed photorealist painter and valued member of the CCA community,
passed away on September 24 at a hospice in Berkeley at the age of 88.

Bob was a vital member of the art community, especially here in the Bay
Area where he lived his entire life, He was a masterful artist and
educator, and an inspirational figure to many. His paintings found
understated and unexpected beauty in the vernacular of American life. His
work is in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the San
Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of
Modern Art in New York, and the National Gallery of Art, among others.

He was a beloved and venerable part of the CCA family, and his impact on
the college and its students will long be remembered. Bob has been central
to the fabric of our school since he first enrolled to earn his
undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Design. He went on to earn an MFA
in painting, and served as a member of our faculty for almost 30 years. The
college is proud to have him as one of our most prestigious alumni, and
awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in 2007.

It has been a great privilege of mine to know Bob and his wife Whitney
Chadwick. He brought such a warm presence to the college and generously
supported our students. I know it will be hard for many in our community to
think of CCA without him. A memorial service is pending and we will share
more information as plans are made. In the meantime, if you have memories
of Bob you’d like to share, please send them to the Alumni Association at
[email-masked].

The CCA community’s thoughts are with Bob’s family and friends. It’s been
an honor to have him in our lives, and his loss is deeply felt.

Sincerely,

Stephen Beal

President

Robert Bechtle at work on a painting in an image from the CCA Archives.
Photo by Blair Paltridge.