William Darling (Hungary / California, 1882-1963), "Trading Post", oil on pressed panel, 1948, signed lower left, with labels affixed on the verso with title and date

sight: 22 x 28 in., frame: 30 x 36 in.

Provenance: Property from a Kerens, Texas collection 

Born Wilmos Bela Sandorhaji in Hungary in 1882, William Darling studied for eight years at the Royal Academy of Budapest followed by further study at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, learning traditional European draftsmanship and design. After immigrating to the United States in 1910, he made a name for himself in New York as a society portrait painter before relocating to Los Angeles during World War I. There, he built a distinguished 30-year career as supervising art director for 20th Century Fox Studios, earning three Academy Awards and multiple nominations for his cinematic set designs. At the same time, Darling pursued painting, creating plein air landscapes and nighttime scenes of cowboys and Native Americans in the manner of Frank Tenney Johnson and drawing inspiration from Palm Springs, Laguna Beach, and the American Southwest.