Jack King

American [1920-1988]

Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Jack King worked as a stable hand during the Great Depression. It is during this time when he first began to make sketches of horses. He attended high school and college in Glendale, California, and worked as a draughtsman at Douglas Aircraft before joining the U.S. Navy in 1944. After World War II, King built a home on a property near Redlands, California, which he sold a few years later in order to attend the Art Center School of Design in Los Angeles. He was assisted in his admission through a GI Bill, entering the program in 1947. King later studied privately with Orrin A. White and W. Smithson Broadhead.

Jack King worked full time for engineering firms during most of his adult life. He painted in his free time, often until quite late into the night, and took on freelance commissions wherever possible. He was only able to devote himself fully to his art upon retiring in the early 1970s. During the last 14 years of his life, Jack King travelled extensively throughout the Western United States, Alberta and British Columbia. Following in the tradition of the great American Western artists, King is best known for his depictions of ranching life and Native scenes, with the horse often playing a central role. Jack King won several awards in the Western art circuit and was a regular contributor to the Calgary Stampede Western Showcase and Auction.