Early Life, Training and Military Service

Ward Lockwood entered the world on September 22, 1894, in Atchison, Kansas. His early years in the American Midwest provided the foundation for a life defined by both creative pursuit and significant civic duty. As he began to develop his eye for form and color, he sought out formal instruction to refine his natural instincts. This path led him through several respected institutions, including the University of Kansas and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. Seeking to broaden his perspective beyond American shores, he traveled to Paris to study at the Academy Ransom.

The quiet life of a student was interrupted by the onset of global conflict. Ward Lockwood answered the call to service during World War I, serving with the 89th Division of the American Expeditionary Force. This period of his life required a transition from the studio to the rigors of military discipline, a shift that would repeat itself decades later. He would eventually see service again during World War II, this time within the Army Air Corps.

His military career was a long and steady one, spanning much of the mid-twentieth century. He remained in service through the years, eventually retiring in 1954 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. This dual identity—as both a trained painter and a career officer—shaped the disciplined approach he brought to his later professional endeavors.

Patrons and New Deal Commissions

During the New Deal era, Lockwood found steady work through the Treasury Department Section of Painting and Sculpture. This period brought him many opportunities to work on large-scale public projects, moving his art from private studios into the daily lives of citizens. He spent much of this time painting murals for various federal buildings, often tasked with capturing the spirit of the American landscape and its people within the walls of civic institutions.

His commissions took him across several states. He worked on murals for the new post office buildings in Edinburg, Texas, and Hamilton, Texas. His hand was also present in the Taos County Courthouse and the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. In the Midwest, he contributed to the lobby of the federal courthouse in Wichita, Kansas, and painted a mural for a courtroom in the federal courthouse in Lexington, Kentucky. He even brought his work to the nation's capital, creating two murals for the Post Office headquarters building in Washington, D.C.

• Texas Rangers in Camp (1942)
• Opening of the Southwest (1937)
• Consolidation of the West (1937)
• Pioneers in Kansas (1935-1936)

Key Works and Artistic Themes

Lockwood’s early output showed a keen interest in landscape and light, seen in his 1921 oil painting, Hills of the Mediterranean. As his career progressed, his focus shifted toward the sweeping narratives of the American experience, often through large-scale murals. During the mid-1930s, he contributed significant works to the federal building projects, including Pioneers in Kansas, painted between 1935 and 1936. This piece used a collage of imagery to trace the evolution of the Postal Service through the settlement of the western United States, featuring a stagecoach and a Pony Express rider. He continued this thematic exploration of westward expansion with his 1937 murals, Opening of the Southwest and Consolidation of the West.

His work often captured the rugged realities of frontier life and the changing landscape of the American West. In 1942, he completed a fresco secco mural titled Texas Rangers in Camp. This work reflected the social and historical textures of the era, even as some of his other mural commissions faced later scrutiny regarding their depictions of Native Americans. Later in his life, his subject matter returned to the earth and the cycles of labor, as seen in his 1957 painting, Winter Wheat.

Later Years and Death

In his later years, Lockwood remained deeply connected to the creative community of the American Southwest. He was an active part of the Taos Artists Colony throughout the 1920s and 1930s, a period that helped shape much of his artistic environment. Beyond his own studio practice, he shared his knowledge with others through teaching. He held positions at both UC Berkeley and the University of Texas, helping to guide a new generation of students in the fundamentals of art.

His life was shared with his wife, Martha Clyde Bonebrake. After retiring from his military service, he settled in the high desert landscape he had long been associated with. He died on July 6, 1963, in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico.