Biography sydney laurence van

Sydney Laurence became internationally famous as “the foremost painter of Alaskan scenes” during the first three decades of the twentieth century.
On Sept.
Born in Brooklyn, NY on Oct. 14, 1865, Sydney Laurence went to sea in 1881.

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BiographyBorn in Brooklyn, NY on Oct. 14, 1865, Sydney Laurence went to sea in 1881. Returning to New York City after several years, he studied at the National Academy of Design under Edward Moran followed by study in Paris at Ecole des Beaux Arts.

He was a war correspondent during the Boer War and lived in Cornwall, England. In 1903 he went to Alaska where he spent several years as a gold prospector before returning to painting in 1911. While his early works were closer akin to Tonalism, his palette brightened later in his career.

During the last 18 years of his life, Laurence spent winters in Los Angeles where the light was better. Alaska's most famous painter, he died in Anchorage on Sept. 14, 1940.

Memberships:
Royal Society of British Artists; Salmagundi Club; St Ives Art Club.

Exhibitions:
Royal Society of British Artists, 1890; Paris Salon, 1894; Panama Pacific Exposition, 1915; Ebell Club (LA), 1931; Stendahl Gallery (LA), 1931; Palm Springs Desert Museum, 1991 (retrospective).

Collections:
Alaska Bank of Commerce (Anchorage); Natio

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Laurence, Sydney

1865-1940 | Artist, Photographer, and Prospector

After his death, Sydney Laurence became internationally famous as “the foremost painter of Alaskan scenes” during the first three decades of the twentieth century. He painted Alaskan landscapes of “romantic and unspoiled Alaska” on such subjects as Mount McKinley (now Denali), rustic cabins and caches, oceans crashing on rocky coasts, and other dramatic scenes. He made his home in Anchorage for twenty-five years from 1915 to 1940. Laurence is best known for his paintings of Mount McKinley in many moods. In Anchorage, examples of his work are on public display at the Anchorage Museum; Wells Fargo Bank’s Alaska Heritage Museum and Library; and at Z.J. Loussac Library, Anchorage Public Library.¹

Early Years

Sydney Mortimer Laurence was born in Brooklyn, New York on October 14, 1865, to Edward Z. and Katherine Marris Leefe Laurence. Edward Laurence was an officer in the Union army during the American Civil War, and after the war worked in New York City, first in “wines” and later as a “broker.”²

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