In the early 1920s, after almost fifteen years in Philadelphia, King moved to Stony Brook, Long Island, but continued finding inspiration for his landscapes throughout the Northeast, from the Lake Placid region of upstate New York to the coastline of Maine, and even visited the artists’ colony of Monhegan Island. Housed in the original frame, The Passing of Winter depicts an icy cove at Port Jefferson, New York, located just a few miles from King’s home in Stony Brook. The painting hung in the National Academy of Design’s Winter Exhibition in late 1923, and was featured in the accompanying catalogue, and was also shown at the Art Institute of Chicago’s 37^th Annual Exhibition in the fall of 1924. It was immediately acquired by William Preston Harrison, a successful businessman and art collector who moved to Los Angeles in 1918 but who hailed from an influential Chicago family and maintained his strong Midwest ties. During the 1920s and 1930s, Harrison donated artworks to the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art (now the Los Angeles County Museum of Art), which formed the backbone of their holdings for decades. According to the February 1925 issue of The American Magazine of Art, King’s The Passing of Winter was one of six works Harrison gave to the museum around Christmas 1924.

More information about this painting...

Provenance:

The artist

To William Preston Harrison, Los Angeles, California, December 1924

To the William P. Harrison collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California, December 1924

Deaccessioned and sold at Sotheby’s, Los Angeles, May 1982

Purchased from the sale by a private dealer, who immediately sold it to a private collection, Santa Barbara, California, June 1982 to present 

Inscription:

(on frame at bottom) PAUL KING / 10 So 18th St / Phila–

Labels:

1. Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art / Exposition Park Los Angeles, CAL., U.S.A. / Acc. No. A 809 Catalogue No. Wm. P. Harrison Coll. / Artist: Paul King / Address: The Passing of / Title: Winter / Return Address: 2400 S. Western Ave. / Mr. + Mrs. Wm. P. Harrison
2. This Oil Painting was cleaned, treated / using a Thermo-Pneumatic Wax Lining / Process and finished with an / Acrylic Ester Resin Varnish / Do not place in direct sunlight

Exhibitions:

1. Winter Exhibition, National Academy of Design, November 17 – December 16, 1923, #324 The Passing of Winter (illustrated in the catalogue)
2. 37th Annual Exhibition of American Paintings and Sculpture, Art Institute of Chicago, October 30 – December 14, 1924, No. 106 The Passing of Winter