Duke Beardsley was born in 1969 in Denver, Colorado. He studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

As a sixth generation Coloradan, Duke Beardsley's western roots run deep and his art reflects those roots. Splitting his time between Denver and his family's cattle ranch in eastern Colorado, he has been drawing and painting images of the American West most of his life. His work blends modern artistic elements with the traditional icons of the West. The result has made him a consistently popular favorite among collectors of contemporary western art.

Beardsley has a masterly command of drawing technique. His working cowboy images are rendered in a clever minimalist approach and presented in palettes that lend a Pop art sensibility. His unique art, like his western lifestyle, is a joyful melding of tradition and contemporary styling.

Beardsley's work has been featured in notable exhibitions across the country such as the Coors Western Art Exhibit and Sale, the Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale, The Russell: The Sale to Benefit the C.M. Russell Museum, and the Colorado Governor's Invitational Art Show & Sale. His work was also included in Out West: The Great American Landscape, the 2007 groundbreaking contemporary western art exhibition that toured China.

Beardsley won the 2008 Colorado Governor's Award for his piece entitled "Colorado Horsepower." His work can be found in noteworthy collections around the world, including the Forbes Collection, Denver Art Museum, Booth Museum of Western Art, and the State of Colorado. In 2011, he was named Artist of the Year by the Foothills Art Center in Golden, Colorado. His work was commissioned for the 2013 Calgary Stampede poster.

Western Art Collector, "Ranch Life", January, 2017
Western Art Collector, “A’Horseback”, January, 2016
The Denver Post, “A Different Kind of Ranch, A Different Kind of Cowboy Artist” June, 2013
Southwest Art, “21 Under 31” September, 2011
Western Art Collector, “Today’s West”, August, 2011
Southwest Art, “Success Stories: Duke Beardsley”, December, 2009
Western Art Collector, “West of Now” October, 2008
Western Art Collector, “The Works of Duke Beardsley” March, 2008
Southwest Art, “Roots in the Rockies” September, 2004
Art Talk, “WY The Hole Picture” June, 2004
Southwest Art, "Best of the West" April, 2003
Southwest Art, "21 Under 31" September, 2001

Booth Western Art Museum, Cartersville, GA
The Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
Whitney Collection of Western American Art
Forbes Collection