Early Career
In 1945, Bettye graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in art education and began her career as a professional artist and teacher. Her first job out of college was teaching art at the Summit School. She became beloved by her students, as she nourished their creative impulses rather than hammer in technical skills. In 1946, she took one of her first major painting trips to Taos, New Mexico. The latest in a long line of artists who had been inspired by the town’s scenery, Bettye decided to enroll in classes at the University of New Mexico to spend more time in the area. Bettye stayed in Taos for eight weeks spending the time painting and taking classes. She completed a number of paintings in Taos, including the one at the left, and was able to develop a style of painting focused on simplified forms and bold colors; two things she would become famous for. At the end of the trip Bettye found herself able to say “You are an artist”.
Bettye would return to Minneapolis to teach at the Summit School for another year, but would leave her position there for one at the Walker Art Center that gave her more time to paint. At the same time, Bettye was submitting paintings to every show she could. In 1947, her persistence paid off and she had paintings accepted to the three largest exhibitions in Minnesota: the Walker’s Painting and Drawing Exhibition, the Minneapolis Institute of Art’s Annual Exhibition, and the Minnesota State Fair’s Annual Art Exhibition. A few months later, Bettye would accept a teaching position at the University of Minnesota while at the same time taking graduate school courses to gain her Master’s in Art Education.
The 50s were a busy decade for Bettye. At the beginning of the decade, she got married and started a family. Though at the time it was the norm for a woman to stop working once she got married, Bettye had no intention of giving up her professional life in painting or teaching. After nearly a full decade of raising children, teaching, and, painting at every opportunity, Bettye decided to take the next step as an artist; hold her first solo exhibition. In 1958 she was able to do just that and cement herself as a fixture of the Twin Cities art world.
While the Twin Cities were home to many artists, there was a shortage of galleries. In 1964 Bettye and her friend Jo Rollins decided to start their own gallery. They not only sought to create a new artist’s space in the Twin Cities, but also make that space one that could uplift other women artists like themselves. Other female artists in the area joined in their endeavor and soon the West Lake Gallery was born. Bettye not only took part in the monthly members' shows at the gallery, but also held five solo exhibitions during her time there. While Bettye and the rest of the West Lake Gallery founders did not see their work through a feminist lens, the founding of the gallery was looked at as being ahead of the curve of feminist art movements.