Dong Kingman watercolor - Church in the hills, Mexico

This is the other painting I bought out of New York. It was painted by the great San Francisco watercolorist Dong Moy Chu Kingman (1911-2000) in 1962. Quite large, a full sheet 22 x 30" plus mat and frame. 

Kingman was arguably the greatest of the Bay Area watercolorists and one of the most acclaimed in the world. Here is an abridged bio from Askart:

Born in Oakland, CA on March 31, 1911. When Kingman was five, his family moved to Hong Kong where he grew up and attended Lingnan Grammar School. The headmaster of the school, Szetu Wei, had studied painting in Paris and recognized his budding artistic talent. For several years he trained young Kingman in both oriental and occidental approaches to painting. Returning to San Francisco in 1929, Kingman became active in the local art scene and began painting scenes of the city. His first solo show at the San Francisco Art Center in 1936 brought immediate recognition. During the 1930s he spent five years working on commissions for the Federal Public Works of Art Project. During WWII he created maps and charts for the O.S.S. After the war Kingman settled in NYC and taught at Columbia University. His paintings were used as backdrops for the movie "Flower Drum Song" and his watercolors were reproduced in Life and on the covers of Fortune and Holiday magazines. Kingman died in NYC on May 12, 2000. Member: American WC Society; NA (1951). Exh: SFMA Inaugural, 1935; Vallejo Public Library, 1935; Calif. WC Society, 1935-44; San Francisco Art Association, 1936 (1st prize); GGIE, 1939; San Diego FA Gallery, 1943; De Young Museum, 1945 (solo); County Fair (LA), 1949; Philadelphia WC Club, 1950 (medal); NAD, 1975 (gold medal). In: MM; SFMA; Boston Museum; Delaware Museum; Whitney Museum (NYC); MOMA; CHS; Brooklyn Museum; De Young Museum; San Diego Museum; Mills College (Oakland); AIC; NAD; Butler Art Inst. (Columbus, OH); Wilmington (DE) Society of FA; Toledo (OH) Museum; Dartmouth College; U.S. State Dept; Addison Gallery (Andover, MA); Evansville Museum.

Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
Interview with the artist or his/her family; Who's Who in American Art 1940-70; California Art Research, 20 volumes; The Watercolors of Dong Kingman by Alan Gruskin; SF Chronicle, 5-16-2000 (obituary).

The watercolor also has an interesting story. 

The 1963 receipt for the painting from Wildenstein listed the title as "In the Buddhist Temple, Peking." 

Now I looked at these buildings and said, "No way is that Peking, that is Spanish architecture."

I sent pictures to various watercolor experts that I knew and the most knowledgeable one said that it could be Peking, Kingman tended to paint whatever he wanted to paint, however fanciful. 

And he was there in 1963, the date of the receipt.

Still I had my doubts.

I sent pictures to my friends in San Francisco, asking if there was a temple there with similar structures. 

Looks like it could be San Francisco. Nope, two temples there, nothing like it.

When I received the painting last week I took it out of frame and on the back was inscribed the title, Church in hill (sic), Mexico. L142 with the four scratched out to a three or vice versa.

This added to the mystery. I called the seller back in New York and asked if it was possible that her father had bought two paintings instead of one? She said no, that they had gone to dinner with the artist and only bought the one piece.

I sent a picture to the incredible art sleuth and all around smart guy Richard Pettler in the East Bay. Lawyer, art dealer, very bright guy.

He called me back the night before last with this information and a theory. 

He told me that the painting is actually from Guanajuato, Mexico. 

Kingman did a workshop there in May of 1962. 

The buildings check out, the Basilica of our lady.

Pettler found a painting from the very same vantage from one of Kingman's students, a female artist from Fresno. 

She had attended a workshop with the artist in Guanajuato in 1962.

Here was his theory; the receipt for the painting was May of 1963 but payment was not made until June sometime. The Chinese painting was In the Buddhist temple, an interior and probably not as visually interesting. Guy buys it, goes home, wife hates it, they trade it in for a landscape two months later.

Which sounds good and plausible. But I ran it by the owner's daughter and she said it never happened. So I am stuck with a conundrum or in this case, a Chinese puzzle.

Which means I will probably never figure this one out.

Oh, well...