When Ben McCready takes his daily walk through the Whitewater community with his wife Anne at his side, he often goes unrecognized and sometimes even unseen by many UW-Whitewater students. What many students don’t know as they see the couple pass by is that Ben is a bit of a local celebrity.
A world-renowned portrait painter, Ben has done portrait work for some very famous faces. Having been commissioned by four U.S. presidents, Academy Award winning actors including Robert Redford and George Clooney, and dozens of other prominent U.S. figures, corporate leaders and educators, Ben has had more than 600 clients in 40 states and 17 countries.
“It’s probably safe to say I’ve been the busiest portrait artist in the country in at least the last 20 years,” Ben said.
The early years
Ben and Anne’s 26-year marriage began after meeting on a blind date in 1985. At the time, Anne was a senior editor and writer for TSR, most famous for its creation of “Dungeons and Dragons.”
“[Anne] was very successful at TSR,” Ben said. “Because of this, I was able to build my career as an artist.”
Today, Anne continues writing and editing in addition to running Ben’s career.
Ben began painting portraits in 1982, landing his first big job painting a portrait of professional ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky in 1983. Ben also became the team artist for the Edmonton Oilers hockey team, which went on to win five Stanley Cups from 1983 to 1990.
Although Gretzky’s portrait was followed by portrait work for Redford and U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan, Ben said he didn’t receive nearly as much national attention until after a two-thirds page advertisement ran in The Spiegel Catalog. The significance of the ad running in The Spiegel was that instead of reaching 8 million subscribers with a standard shelf life of two and half weeks,The Spiegel went to 50 million homes and had a shelf life of about a year.
“Then everything kind of just took off,” Ben said.
Since then, Ben has become what the University of Michigan calls “one of the world’s leading portrait painters for more than 25 years.”
Yet, after 30 years of Ben’s very successful portrait painting career, he said he is “not anywhere near” where he wants to be.
Why Whitewater?
Although living in a larger, metropolitan area would suit Ben’s career just fine, Ben, Anne and their son Bo have called Whitewater home for the past 20 years.
“We like the small town atmosphere,” Ben said. “Whitewater is such a friendly town and it’s nice to have the university so close by.”
Ben graduated from Whitewater High School in 1969 and attended UW-Whitewater his freshman year before transferring to UW-Madison. Similarly, Anne also has UW-Whitewater ties, having graduated in 1982. Both Ben and Anne’s parents, Don McCready and George Gray, were prominent UW-Whitewater professors who spent close to 30 years each on staff.
“There’s some good karma for us here [in Whitewater],” Ben said.
When Bo was born in 1988, Ben and Anne decided Whitewater would be the perfect place to raise their son.
“The educational opportunities for our son was one of the main reasons we moved here,” Anne said.
These educational opportunities proved to be beneficial for Bo, who scored a 34 on the ACT and is now working on a PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at UW-Madison.
The dynamics of a small town are what Ben said keeps him and his family here.
“There really doesn’t seem to be a huge competitiveness with one another here,” Ben said. “In Whitewater, I’ve never sensed that anybody was anything other than genuinely excited and interested about what anybody else does.”
Ben said this is something you can’t often find in a larger community, which he described as being part of the “dog-eat-dog” world mentality.
“I do receive more than my share of national attention for what I do career-wise and it’s so nice to live in a place where to some, I’m still this teenage kid,” Ben said.
Living just a block from campus, Ben and Anne McCready’s presence in the Whitewater community has been very obvious. Not only does UW-Whitewater house five portraits created by Ben, but the university has also received more than $30,000 in the form of donations from the McCready family.
“Ben and Anne are very visible in the Whitewater community,” Chancellor Richard Telfer said. “They are concerned about the success of the city, university and community and contribute in significant ways.”
The five UW-Whitewater portraits Ben has painted include Irving and Fern Young, H. Gaylon and Hannah Greenhill, James R. Connor, Lorraine Gross and Forrest Perkins.
“Ben’s portraits of individuals who have made major contributions to UW-Whitewater are very important in helping our campus recognize these individuals’ contributions,” Telfer said.
College of Arts and Communications Dean Mark McPhail also described Ben and Anne as national and local “examples of servant leadership.”
“They embody the best of what our College represents: successful, nationally recognized teachers, practitioners, and supports of the arts, committed to serving higher education and the public at large,” McPhail said.
Along with Telfer and McPhail, Ben and Anne have many other close relationships with UW-Whitewater staff members.
“We know several dozen people on the faculty and staff, and they’re all really fantastic people,” Ben said. “And they’re all doing remarkable in their careers as well.”
Working for George Clooney
Most recently, McCready was commissioned to paint a portrait of George Clooney to be given to the actor as a gift. While Clooney was scoping out potential scenes for “The Ides of March” at the University of Michigan, he spotted a few of McCready’s portraits on campus and decided he wanted to use the portraits as background art in the film.
After McCready received forms from Clooney’s legal team to use the painting, university staff and Clooney’s staff then arranged for McCready to paint Clooney’s portrait as a surprise.
“George got wind of it about a month before it was presented to him,” McCready said. “He loved it.”
Upon Clooney’s request, Ben, Anne and Bo had the chance to meet with him, who all commented on how “wonderful and down-to-earth” he was.
“I was surprised by his genuine warmth and attention,” Anne said. “There is a reason the ladies like him.”
Along with face time with Clooney, Bo was also able to get a few seconds in the limelight working as an extra in the film. Yet Ben said Bo is a “very modest kid.”
“Anything more than three seconds on film would have been embarrassing for him,” Ben said.
Bo, who sat in the front row of a scene filmed at the University of Michigan, had the opportunity to spend an entire eight-hour day of filming within a few feet of Clooney.
His secret to success
Ben said he considers himself lucky for having two parents with outstanding artistic ability.
“I’ve got a really good genetic mix,” Ben said. “Both of my parents were tremendous artists.”
Yet if Ben were to be asked what his secret to success is, he would attribute his entire career to his wife.
“Anne runs my career,” Ben said. “She does everything but paint. She’s also my most loving and caring critic. Without her, it’s honest to say this career never would have happened.”
The advice Ben gives to young artists that strive to be as successful as he has been is to be willing to outwork everybody else.
“Find out what you enjoy enough to put in a tremendous amount of work,” Ben said. “You’ve got to be willing to outwork people and put up with disappointment.”
In his own work, Ben said he is never quite satisfied with his paintings, and the pressure is often quite daunting.
“My clients are some of the richest, most prominent people in the country and they have expectations,” Ben said. “So far, I’ve never let anybody down, but that fear is always there. You learn to deal with the pressure.”
Although Ben and Anne’s national success has been outstanding to say the very least, their contributions and presence in the Whitewater community has been equally substantial, according to Telfer.
“Ben and Anne’s successes are grounded in their personal values and personal qualities,” Telfer said. “They are delightful individuals who care deeply about their family and their community.”
