Biography

Biography

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.

 

Schools of Study

School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

 

Partial List of Collections

Ackland Museum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Cerritos College, Norwalk, CA
Long Beach Museum of Art, CA
Rio Hondo College, Whittier, CA
Springfield Museum, Springfield, MO
University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, NM
University of Texas Museum, Austin, TX
Weatherspoon Art Gallery, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC

 

Selected Awards

National Watercolor Society Purchase Award, 1975
Springfield Museum Purchase Award, 1974
California National Watercolor Society Watercolor West Award, 1974
California National Watercolor Society Missouri Cash Award, 1973

 

Selected Exhibitions

Jacqueline Anhalt Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1977
University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, IL 1971
Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA 1966
Pasadena Museum of Art, Pasadena, CA 1953
M.H. de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA 1948
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL 1945

 

Keith Crown at 203 Fine Art

Please follow the link below to view the online catalogue for the 2019 exhibition Taos Moderns in Santa Fe,organized by 203 Fine Art.

Taos Moderns in Santa Fe | Exhibition Catalogue on ISSUU

Works
  • Keith Crown, A Flight of Wild Adobes on a Mountain Perch, ca. 1990s
    Keith Crown
    A Flight of Wild Adobes on a Mountain Perch, ca. 1990s
    Watercolor on paper
    30 x 22 inches
    76.2 x 55.9 cm
  • Keith Crown, Arroyo Miranda with the Sangre de Cristos, ca. 1990s
    Keith Crown
    Arroyo Miranda with the Sangre de Cristos, ca. 1990s
    Watercolor on paper
    30 ½ x 22 ½ inches
    77.5 x 57.2 cm
  • Keith Crown, Pacific Coast Hwy through El Segundo, 1978
    Keith Crown
    Pacific Coast Hwy through El Segundo, 1978
    Watercolor on hand made paper
    31 x 23 inches
    78.7 x 58.4 cm
  • Keith Crown, Ranchos de Taos II, 1986
    Keith Crown
    Ranchos de Taos II, 1986
    Lithograph
    13 ¾ x 19 ½ inches
    34.9 x 49.5 cm
  • Keith Crown, Ranchos de Taos in Sangre de Cristo Mtns, 1986
    Keith Crown
    Ranchos de Taos in Sangre de Cristo Mtns, 1986
    Watercolor on paper
    22 ¼ x 20 ¾ inches
    56.5 x 52.7 cm
  • Keith Crown, Red Head Nude
    Keith Crown
    Red Head Nude
    watercolor on paper
    13 3/4 x 11
  • Keith Crown, Taos, ca. 1990s
    Keith Crown
    Taos, ca. 1990s
    Watercolor on paper
    30 ½ x 22 inches
    77.5 x 55.9 cm
  • Keith Crown, Taos (1041), c. 1990s
    Keith Crown
    Taos (1041), c. 1990s
    watercolor
    30 ½ x 22 inches
    77.5 x 55.9 cm
  • Keith Crown, The Canyon of Raton Pass, ca. 1990s
    Keith Crown
    The Canyon of Raton Pass, ca. 1990s
    Watercolor on paper
    22 ½ x 30 inches
    57.2 x 76.2 cm
  • Keith Crown, The Southwest Ridge, Ranchos de Taos Valley, ca. 1990s
    Keith Crown
    The Southwest Ridge, Ranchos de Taos Valley, ca. 1990s
    Watercolor on paper
    30 ½ x 22 ½ inches
    77.5 x 57.2 cm
  • Keith Crown, Untitled, ca. 1990s
    Keith Crown
    Untitled, ca. 1990s
    Watercolor on paper
    23 x 17 ½ inches
    58.4 x 44.5 cm
  • Keith Crown, Untitled LAX, 1976
    Keith Crown
    Untitled LAX, 1976
    Watercolor on paper
    30 x 22 inches
    76.2 x 55.9 cm
  • Keith Crown, View of Taos Mountain from Talpa, New Mexico, ca. 1990s
    Keith Crown
    View of Taos Mountain from Talpa, New Mexico, ca. 1990s
    Watercolor on paper
    30 x 22 ½ inches
    76.2 x 57.2 cm
  • Keith Crown, The Little Intersections of Arroyo Miranda - Near Taos (1027), c. 1990s
    Keith Crown
    The Little Intersections of Arroyo Miranda - Near Taos (1027), c. 1990s
    watercolor
    28 x 21 inches
    71.1 x 53.3 cm
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  • Keith Crown, The Valley Near Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico (1045), c. 1990s
    Keith Crown
    The Valley Near Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico (1045), c. 1990s
    watercolor
    22.5 x 31"
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Exhibitions