10 Rarely Seen Sidney E. King Paintings now on Display
New Paintings
THE INDIAN MASSACRE AT THE FALLING CREEK IRON WORKS
THE INDIAN MASSACRE AT THE FALLING CREEK IRON WORKS, 1622 was created in 1959 by Sidney E. King for the Lynchburg Foundry Company, Lynchburg, Virginia. It is an oil on wood, measuring 54” X 38”.
AUGUSTINE WASHINGTON AND HIS TEN-YEAR-OLD SON, GEORGE, VISITING ACCOKEEK FURNACE IN 1742
AUGUSTINE WASHINGTON AND HIS TEN-YEAR-OLD SON, GEORGE, VISITING ACCOKEEK FURNACE IN 1742, was created in 1961 by Sidney E. King for Lynchburg Foundry Company, Lynchburg, Virginia.
It is an oil on canvas, measuring 54” X 38”.
Lynchburg Foundry was acquired by the Intermet Corporation in the 1980s, and both paintings were moved to Intermet’s corporate headquarters in Troy, Michigan.
James A. Crutchfield, who later authored Tribute to an Artist: The Jamestown Paintings of Sidney E. King, acquired both paintings from the Intermet Corporation in 2005
The Sidney E. King Foundation for the Arts would like to offer a sincere thank you to Regena H. and James A. Crutchfield for their generous donation of these two important and historical paintings to the SEK Art Center.
Both paintings are available for viewing Thurs. – Sat., 11:00 to 4:00 at the Sidney King Art Center in Bowling Green.
The Sidney E. King Arts Center
Located in Caroline County, Virginia, the Center is sponsored by the Sidney E. King Foundation for the Arts. The Foundation celebrates the work of Sidney E. King and other local artists, as well as promotes the arts via regular programs and special events.
Sidney E. King (1906-2002)
A nationally renowned painter and muralist, Sidney E. King grew up in Dorchester, MA and learned painting at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, getting tips from famed John Singer Sargent.
During World War II, King was based at the US Marine Corps base in nearby Quantico, Virginia, serving as a painter of signs, combat planes, insignias and recruiting posters. After the war, he painted on commission for book publishers, churches, and others.
Developing a reputation for skilled murals, King worked with Dupont Chemicals to develop oil-based paints for use on wood to make paintings that could endure the elements (including a 100 degree temperature variance) well enough for lengthy outdoor display.
He painted the largest mural in North America, (400 feet long x 75 feet tall) in the rotunda of the Mormon Information Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as a 400 foot mural for the 1964 New York World's Fair.
Over the decades, King painted nearly 200 historic murals for the National Park Service, mostly displayed outdoors at Civil War battle sites and Historic Jamestown. He was known for his skillful painting and the historical accuracy of his works.
Sidney E. King taught painting to students in the region and painted 6 days a week until he was 92 years old. King lived most of his life in Caroline County, at "The Willows" near Bowling Green, Virginia.
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