No New World, Lithograph

Origin: United States
Profession: Painter, printmaker, teacher
Born: May 13, 1916, Independence, Missouri
Died: April 22, 1995, Kansas City, Missouri

William Wind McKim enjoyed hunting wildlife as well as painting it. He was born in Missouri, but his family moved often, living in Iowa, Utah, and Idaho during his childhood. This early introduction to various locales aroused an interest in birds and animals. Through his early hunting experiences, he developed an eye for wildlife characteristics. After graduating high school, McKim began night classes at the Kansas City Art Institute in 1934. However, earning a living took priority over art during those difficult times during the Depression. Thomas Hart Benton's arrival at the Kansas City Art Institute in 1935 encouraged McKim, and he re-enrolled in art classes.

After studying painting under Benton and lithography under John De Martelly, he graduated from the Institute in 1940. He served in World War II for four years as a second lieutenant and then returned to Kansas City to teach at the Institute. McKim restarted the lithography program at the school after it had been closed during the war and also taught drawing. Although he initially regarded the position as temporary, he remained at the school until his retirement in 1986. He continued to paint and print until his death in 1995.

McKim exhibited his art at the New York World's Fair in 1939 and in 1964 and also wrote and published a manual, Printing from Stone, on how to print lithographic work. The artist used lithography throughout his life as opposed to other printing techniques, such as etching or woodcut. Although he taught and encouraged his students to experiment with color, McKim never printed with hues in his own work, believing color was a distraction from the depths and subtleties of black and white tones.

Sources:

Mayhugh, Marie McKim. "William Wind McKim Biography." E-mail to National Museum of Wildlife Art. 12 June 2006.

McKim, William and ed. Lacey Taylor Jordan. "William McKim: A Printmaker Remembers," Journal of the Print World (Spring 1996): 32.