George David Dombek was born in Paris, Logan County, Arkansas, on June 18, 1944.
Dombek studied at the University of Arkansas and earned a Bachelor of Architecture in 1974 and an M.F.A. in 1977. He began showing his art at museums and galleries nationwide while in college. After graduation Dombek worked for architectural firms in Arkansas and California before taking a position as a visiting artist at Youngstown State University in Ohio in 1979. Dombek began teaching architecture at Florida A&M University in 1980. While there he also taught art and architecture in Ohio, Saudi Arabia, and Florence, Italy. In 1996 he returned to Arkansas to pursue painting full time. Dombek's work has been shown in hundreds of galleries and museums around the country. He was awarded a New York studio residency by the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation in 2003, an Arkansas Art Council's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2006.
#1: Composite image of early photo of George Dombek and still frame from Pryor Center video interview
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: George Dombek's maternal grandmother, Tennessee "Tennie" Lee Dane, Denning, Arkansas, 1915
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: George Dombek's mother, Lillian Sherley (Dombek), at age six months; Altus, Arkansas, 1916
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: Coal mine in Denning, Arkansas, 1918
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#5: Georgoe Dombek's grandparents, Frank and Apolonia Dombek, with their children (l to r) Sophie Margaret, John, Josephine Mary, Felecia (Polly), Frances, and Stanley (George Dombek's father); 1920
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#6: Denning, Arkansas, in the 1920s
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#7: George Dombek's paternal grandmother, Apolonia Janiszewska Dombek
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#8: George Dombek's maternal grandmother, Tennie Dane, in front of her home in Altus, Arkansas, 1924
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#9: George Dombek's father, Stanley Dombek, 1947
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#10: George Dombek holding his sister, Paula, 1947
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#11: George Dombek as a child
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#12: George Dombek as a child
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#13: George Dombek's father, Stanley Dombek
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#14: George Dombek's father, Stanley Dombek, Ozark, Arkansas, 1960
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#15: George Dombeck with his sister, Paula, 1952
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#16: George Dombek as a child
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#17: George Dombek in the hospital at age 11, Paris, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#18: George Dombek at age 12, 1956
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#19: George Dombek as a teen in sports uniform
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#20: George Dombek plays basketball
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#21: George Dombek at age 17 in 1961
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#22: School photographs of George Dombek
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#23: George Dombek (top row, 2nd from left) with his family (top row): Jim Stanley, Fred, Bob; (bottom row) Don, mother, Lillian, father, Stanley, and Paula; Paris, Arkansas, 1969
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#24: George Dombek, 1982
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#25: George Dombek with his mother, Lillian, 1982
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#26: Promotional material for George Dombek exhibit at the Scarfone Gallery, University of Tampa
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#27: George Dombek
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#28: George Dombek at an exhibition of his watercolors, Arab Heritage Gallery, Saudi Arabia, 1982
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#29: George Dombek at an exhibition of his watercolors, Arab Heritage Gallery, Saudi Arabia, 1982
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#30: George Dombek, December 1983
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#31: George Dombek (2nd from left) with his brothers, Fred, Jim, Don, and Bob; 2000
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#32: George Dombek at his studio in Goshen, Arkansas, 2008
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#33: George Dombek with his art, 2010
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#34: George Dombek with his wife, Sandy Twiggs (left), and his mother, Lillian
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#35: George Dombek with his great-grandson, Locklyn Twiggs
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#36: George Dombek with his great-grandson, Locklyn Twiggs
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#37: George Domek's watercolor, Elba Beach, 1990
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#38: George Dombek's watercolor, Tree Grid, 1991
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#39: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with George Dombek; Goshen, Arkansas, 2015
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#40: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with George Dombek; Goshen, Arkansas, 2015
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#41: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with George Dombek; Goshen, Arkansas, 2015
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#42: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with George Dombek; Goshen, Arkansas, 2015
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#43: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with George Dombek; Goshen, Arkansas, 2015
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#44: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with George Dombek; Goshen, Arkansas, 2015
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#45: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with George Dombek; Goshen, Arkansas, 2015
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
