WILLIAM JACK LAYCOX

(American, 1921-1984)

GULLS NEAR CARMEL

Watercolor and Gouache on Paper

22 x 30 Inches

Signed Lower Right, 'Jack Laycox'

Additionally Signed, Verso, Titled, 'Gulls Near Carmel' and Dated 1968

 

An exceptionally fine and atmospheric study of stormy weather off the coast of California by this celebrated member of the American Society of Watercolorists.

 

Jack Laycox became a leading California painter of the mid-twentieth century, admired for a vivid, impressionist style that combined his consistent awareness of underlying structure with an intuitive sense of color and lyrical brushwork. Laycox first studied at the University of California at Berkeley and, subsequently, at San Francisco State College where he completed his Bachelor of Arts. He then worked as a technical illustrator for the Atomic Energy Commission, a position that helped him to develop his native talent for precision and clarity of line.

 

By the mid-1950's, Laycox was producing successful commercial designs while continuing to pursue his fine art career. His chosen subjects ranged from San Francisco street scenes to European harbors and alpine churches, all rendered with vigorous brushwork, balanced composition and consistent attention to underlying structure. During this period, he achieved both commercial and critical success with the Parisian art review, 'La Revue Moderne', praising his work as “dynamic, vivid, animated and pulsating.”

 

A long-time member of the Society of Western Artists, Jack Laycox exhibited widely and with success including with the SWA and the American Watercolor Society as well as in New York, Paris and Tokyo. He was the recipient of numerous prizes, medals and juried awards and his work is held in prominent private and public collections including the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Hilbert Museum of California Art. The artist is well-listed in relevant art reference works including 'Who Was Who in American Art'.

 

Reference:

Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Peter Hastings Falk, Sound View Press 1999, Vol. 2, p. 1969-1970; et al.