


Sydney Laurence(1865-1940)The Alaska That Was 16 x 20 in. framed 21 3/4 x 25 1/2 in.
Sold for US$22,950 inc. premium
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Aaron Bastian
Director
Sydney Laurence (1865-1940)
signed 'Sydney Laurence' (lower left) and signed again and titled on a label (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
16 x 20 in.
framed 21 3/4 x 25 1/2 in.
Painted circa 1927.
Footnotes
Provenance
Nugget Shop, Juneau, Alaska.
Marshall Field & Company, Chicago, Illinois.
G.D. Urbele, Chicago, Illinois.
Mrs. B. Steele, Mishawaka, Indiana.
Private collection, Studio City, California, from the above, December 1968.
By family descent.
Sydney Laurence was one of the first academically trained artists to live in the Alaska Territory. The composition for The Alaska That Was is rare for the artist who is best known for depictions of Mt. McKinley (Denali). As the title suggests, the painting features an artistically blended vignette of elements of the Tlingit or Haida people set against a mountainous coastal landscape. A seagoing canoe painted with totemic design and a killer whale clan crest pole are displayed near a solitary structure, possibly a grave house.