William Earl Scheele

(1920 – 1998)

Natural History Artist and Museum Director

William Scheele was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio in 1920.  In 1939 he began working in the Exhibition Department of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History while attending the Cleveland School of Art.  He served in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II from 1942 to 1946.  After returning home, he graduated from the Cleveland School of Art and Western Reserve University in 1947, and then became the Chief of the Exhibitions Department at CMNH.  In 1949, he was appointed museum Director and continued in that position through 1972, guiding the rebirth of the museum in the University Circle area in the late 1950’s. 

His art career began with encouragement from local master art teacher, Paul Ulen, who taught with his wife Jean at West Technical High School.  Scheele’s student work won several local and national art competitions, earning him scholarships to the Cleveland School of Art and Western Reserve University.  A 1939 first prize in a bird art competition sponsored by the Natural History Museum led to the position in their Exhibition Department.  It was at the art school that he was further inspired by some of Cleveland’s greatest painters, Henry Keller, Frank Wilcox, and Paul Travis.

During his tenure as museum director, Scheele applied his interest in natural history and his artistic skills to write and illustrate nature articles for the Cleveland Press from 1949 through 1973.  He also wrote and illustrated seven books covering subjects ranging from prehistoric animals and man to the Ohio Indian mound builders. 

After Scheele became Director of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in 1949, he put together a core group of scientists and artists to help develop a new vision for the museum, one that would literally guide visitors through the evolution of the universe and life on Earth.  When the new museum opened to the public in 1958 it was hailed as one of the top natural history museums in the world.

After leaving Cleveland in 1972, Scheele’s career continued with the World Wildlife Fund, the Miami Museum of Science, the South Carolina Museum Commission, and the Columbus Museum of Arts and Sciences.

Throughout his life, William Scheele’s artwork reflected the world of nature, from detailed studies of plants and animals, to conjuring images of prehistoric life, to wilderness landscapes.  His favorite medium was watercolor, with all it’s fluidity and brilliance of color, and quickness of execution.