Jack Elmo King - Desert Mesa Landscape 1973 - Oil on Board P3037

Pretty spectacular. Art measures 13" x 21" and the frame is 15 1/2" x 23"

Jack (Jac) Elmo King (1920-1998)

A sporting and Western painter, he was born in Phoenix, Arizona on December 31, 1920 and went to High School and Community College in Glendale, California.  In 1941, he went to work as a draftsman at Douglas Aircraft. He went into the U. S. Navy in April of 1944.  After World War II, they bought an acre and a half tract near Redlands, California where Jack built an adobe house.  Then after eighteen months, he and his wife  sold the home so that he could attend the Los Angeles Art Center School.  He was accepted on the GI Bill in 1947 and attended for two years.

In 1949, he got a job in Dallas, Texas with per diem for a year as a draftsman with the Carter Engineering Group.  He did not graduate from college but they were continually promoting him in mechanical engineering positions.  He then worked in Wichita, Kansas as a draftsman again. At the end of his work day, Jack would paint until midnight on freelance work for his own enjoyment.

The King's moved back to West Covina, California in 1952.  He went to work for Aerojet Aerospace Engineering and then worked in Tacoma, Washington until 1972.  They again came back to California. Then they moved again to Idaho Falls again with Aerojet Aerospace for one year.  Jack got sick so they came back to California where he retired in 1970.

Despite working full-time he continued to paint whenever possible; after retirement in 1970 he painted full-time and his work was marketed exclusively through an agent in Canada.  He exhibited for many years at the Calgary Stampede Western Art Auction.

Sources include:
Levis Fine Art Auctions and Appraisal
meadowlarkgallery.com