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Movie Picture Academy Stages Dong Kingman Show

Artist and pioneer wins unique recognition

By Sam Chu Lin

The Academy of Motion Pictures in Beverly Hills has opened an exhibit of famed watercolor artist Dong Kingman, featuring his paintings from such film classics as Flower Drum Song (1961), 55 Days at Peking (1963), Circus World (1964) and King Rat (1965).

In addition to the original watercolors, the exhibition features pen and pencil sketches and sketchbooks, as well as still photographs and video clips of Kingman’s contributions to the motion picture industry.

Before the Chinese American artist passed away this past May, the 89-year-old Kingman and his long time friend and dealer, Monte James, began a two-year negotiation for the transfer of these works to the Academy.

“Kingman and I didn’t go to work on this seriously until sometime in 1999,” James recounts. “He had me to start ferreting out the film-related work that he had managed to save from his work in the film industry. That wasn’t easy.”

Over three hundred pieces of Kingman’s works have been donated to the Academy in perpetuity.

“It’s an incredible collection,” James adds. “People at the Academy realize the significance of this. We were very busy. Kingman and I worked on this every day up until a week before he passed away.”

This exhibition marks only the second time the film-related works of an Asian American have been included by the Academy of Motion Pictures in its collection. The films and papers of two-time Oscar winner James Wong Howe, a close friend of Kingman’s, is the first. The cinematographer made more than 100 feature films, including a documentary with Kingman, and won the Academy Award for Hud (starring Paul Newman) and The Rose Tattoo (starring Burt Lancaster and Anna Mangani).

On July 27, the Academy premiered the exhibition with a private reception featuring family members, guests from as far away as Hong Kong and motion picture personalities who had worked with Kingman. One of those stars was actress Nancy Kwan, who was featured in a photograph with Kingman on the set of Flower Drum Song, the first mainstream movie to ever feature an all Asian American cast.

“It brought back a lot of happy memories,” Kwan says. “I really miss him. I spent a lot of time with his wife and family. I’m very proud of him.”

According to Kwan, Kingman had a notable trait. “He always carried a sketch pad with him,” she observes. “Even socially, when we went out to dinner or walked around the street, he carried a sketchpad. If he found something of interest, he would stop and start drawing.”

Many of Kingman’s works can be found in major art museums around the world and in the homes of show business personalities. Former Tonight Show host Johnny Carson and singer Frank Sinatra were among his fans and collectors.

Sketches of such movie icons as actors John Wayne, Shirley McClain and Robert Mitchum are included in the exhibit.

According to Ellen Harrington, special events and exhibition coordinator for the Academy of Motion Pictures, most of the works in this Dong Kingman collection were done in the 1960s.

“Many of the films do have an Asian theme,” she says. “He was specifically chosen to work on them and to set the mood for them. Others are not necessarily Asian themes. He did a lot of production work for a film for which he was suppose to be the executive production designer, but the film was not ultimately made. It was called the Ying and Yang of Mr. Go, which was being produced by Burgess Meredith, the actor who as a good friend of Mr. Kingman as well.”

Harrington noted that Kingman had a unique relationship with many of Hollywood’s greats.

“He had a lot of friends in the film world,” she continues, “who were interested in having him on-set to sketch. He was very welcomed. He would sit and draw continuously for hours. He would sketch the action. He would sketch what was happening in a scene. He would sketch the camera people and the equipment. He did a number of things actually on advertising commissions for the studios, for MGM and Universal.”

The official describes this exhibit “a unique entity” for the Academy. “When Mr. Kingman was working on a film,” she explains, “he was doing something that not many other people did. Most films did not incorporate the kind of work or take the time to approach a fine art painter and ask for them to give an artistic contribution to a movie.

“I think he fills a unique position in motion picture history as far as job descriptions go, as far as a relationship between movie people and fine artists, and also from our perspective, it represents a very significant Asian American collection.”

A retrospective of Kingman’s works will soon go on national tour. The paintings have been gathered from private and Kingman’s personal collection and are not for sale.

Dong Kingman: An American Master will be on display at the Academy through Sept. 24. Admission is free. Viewing hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and weekends, noon to 6 p.m. For more information, call 310-247-3600.

The exhibitions will take place at the Governor’s Gallery adjoining the offices of Governor Gary Locke in Washington state in Olympia, Wash., Oct. 3 to Dec. 6, the Chinese Culture Foundation at the Holiday Inn in San Francisco, (last week of February, March, & April), the Louisiana Art and Science Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (summer of 2001), and finally in New York City, the fall of 2001.