Alaska Landscape Artist: Sydney Laurence

No other artist captures the presence of Denali across the mountain’s many moods and seasons quite like Sydney Laurence. Most recognizable are his paintings of Denali’s southern aspect from the banks of the Tokositna River. Although born in New York in 1865, he moved to Alaska in 1904 and eventually became known as Alaska’s premier and first professionally trained painter. He employed a tonalist technique popular on the East coast during that era, which tends toward subtle color and emphasizes atmosphere and, especially in Laurence’s case, the nuance of far northern light.

I wouldn’t mind to live (and die) like Sydney Laurence who passed away in Anchorage in 1940 and fascinatingly predicted his own death. These two articles on AlaskaHistory.org and ADN (if you have a subscription) offer well summarized biographies.

For a deeper dive into the life and work of Sydney Laurence, check out the book Sydney Laurence, Painter of the North by Kesler E. Woodward. For some more colorful story-telling try My Life with Sydney Laurence by his second wife, Jeanne Laurence. Or make a tour of visiting these locations in Anchorage to view original works:

• Anchorage Museum – The museum offers a fantastic collection of Sydney Laurence paintings including the truly outstanding 6’x12′ piece shown in the photo below.
• The Antique Gallery – Down on 4th Ave., the Antique Gallery is unique amongst Anchorage antique shops in many ways, one being the quality and quantity of artwork. You can often find a Sydney Laurence original or two amongst their current offerings.
• Whiskey and Ramen – In addition to delicious ramen and fun, big-city ambience, this restaurant down on 4th Ave. has a small collection of Sydney Laurence paintings in the downstairs bar area.
• Loussac Public Library – The main Anchorage public library has a collection including roughly a dozen Sydney Laurence paintings hanging (crookedly) in the bridge space of the Alaska Wing accessed from the 3rd floor. They are behind some terribly glary glass, but they are there and you can see them (from a certain angle)!
• Wells Fargo Lobby – The main branch at the corner of Northern Lights and C St. has a collection including 6-7 large originals, primarily water scenes and one lovely Denali piece. In my opinion, the real showstopper here is a massive landscape by Eustace Ziegler. Viewing is allowed, if not a bit awkward. Photography is prohibited.
• I’ll add others as I find and confirm them. Please let me know if you have any leads!

Thanks to the generous folks at Blue Ribbon Mine, I’ve had a chance to watch the Emmy award-winning1990 KAKM documentary Laurence of Alaska. I will update after I learn more from Alaska Public Media about the potential of making this documentary available online.