Philip Behymer’s art on exhibit at International Museum of Art

The family of Philip Behymer – a local artist, teacher and painter who passed away in 2013 – organized an exhibition of his artwork at the International Museum of Art in El Paso.

Behymer, a self-declared El Pasoan, was born in 1936 in a smalll town in Idaho. He served a stint as an airman and even enrolled in pharmacy school. His true calling was painting.

“He loved to make art. That is what his life was about,” said Kenneth McGraw, Behymer’s son.

McGraw helped gather the artwork for the exhibit. “He lived an artist’s lifestyle. He would go to work and come home and take a nap, get up in the middle of the night and paint, and that’s what he loved to do,” McGraw said.

Behymer moved to El Paso in 1978 to teach at El Paso Community College and to further his career as a painter. He instantly fell in love with the Sun City.

“He loved how far he could see. He was a man of great vision,” McGraw said.

The art exhibit allowed Behymer’s daughter, Heather, to see her father’s artwork for the first time all in one place.

“I’m so proud of what’s been put together and so touched on how it all came together,” Heather said, “I’ve never seen it put together this way even though I grew up with it.”

Behymer enjoyed painting portraits of local celebrities like Don Haskins. He also documented his wife’s battle with cancer, through his paintings, up until she passed away in 1988.

Behymer’s artwork is gritty and larger than life, with some paintings standing nearly 6 feet tall

“It’s almost like a retrospective,” said Marco Santos, a former student of Behymer who touts the artist as a great teacher “ahead of his time.”

“He’s the type of person that you meet and they don’t belong in this century type of guy,” Santos said.