Keith Crown (1918-2010)

Born in Keokuk, Iowa, Keith Crown became a leading abstractionist in Southern California following World War II. His primary medium for his artworks was watercolor, and he was on the board of directors and served as President of the California Water Color Society. He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1936-1940, receiving his BFA in 1946.

That same year, Crown joined the faculty at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. In 1947, he had his first one-man show at the M.H. deYoung Museum in San Francisco. He was awarded a sabbatical leave in 1956 when he visited Taos, New Mexico, for four months.

Crown spent considerable time painting and writing while in Taos. In 1975, he built a house in Talpa, near Taos. Although he continued traveling widely, he stayed in Taos part of each year. After retiring in 1983 from USC as a Professor Emeritus of Art, he moved to Columbia, Missouri, where he continued to produce art. A retrospective exhibition was held to celebrate his 90th birthday in 2008 at the Perlow-Stevens Gallery at the University of Missouri.