About John & Geraldine Lilley Museum of Art

Artist: Craig Sheppard (American, 1913-1978)

Craig Sheppard (1913-1978) received his education at the University of Oklahoma, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting, 1938, and a Bachelor in Sculpture, 1939. He was an instructor at the University of Oklahoma, 1939/40, then at Montana State College, Bozeman, 1942/42. During the intervening years before joining the faculty of the University of Nevada, he was a production illustrator and designer in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1947, Sheppard joined the Art Department at the University of Nevada and is credited with enlarging facilities, improving the quality of instruction, and initiating a program of exhibitions which brought the works of major artists to the campus and community. He was a Fulbright Lecturer at the University of Oslo, Norway, 1955, and sabbatical leaves took him to France in 1961, and to Mexico in 1979. Sheppard is noted primarily for his Western theme oil and watercolor paintings, though his range of graphic expression is diverse, and his work was acclaimed in numerous national and international exhibitions. Craig Sheppard retired in 1973, and in 1974 was named emeritus and awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts.

Yolande Jacobson Sheppard (1921-1998) received her education at the University of Oklahoma, earning a B.F.A. in sculpture in 1941. Her father, Oscar Jacobson, was head of the University of Oklahoma Art Department. Under her professional name, Yolande Jacobson, her work was exhibited in numerous competitive shows. In 1959, Jacobson Sheppard was selected to create a commemorative statue of Nevada's Senator, Patrick Anthony McCarran for the National Statuary Hall collection in Washington, D.C.. Her work is represented in major colleges, museums, and collections throughout the world.

Yolande and Craig married in 1941. The Sheppards' two children, daughter Sophie and son Sim, were often models for Yolande Jacobson's portrait bust sculptures.