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William Wind McKIM
William Wind McKim (1916-1995) was a painter, printmaker, and educator in Missouri. As a student at the Kansas City Art institute his work caught the eye of professors John DeMartelly and Thomas Hart Benton. Printmaking was starting to make a resurgence at the end of World War II across the United States, and the Midwest was no exception. When asked to reinvigorate the printmaking department at the Kansas City Art Institute, McKim became an accomplished lithographer and taught countless students. The artist was well known for his depiction of animals, beginning with his famous lithograph “Old Gladiator” which was in the 1939 exhibition “Who’s Who in American Art” at the New York World’s Fair Exhibition of Contemporary American Art. The animals he created were both realistic and enhanced in the same stroke. Each subject seems to have had all imperfections removed, standing as a generalized example of the species’ perfect specimen. With seemingly innocuous backgrounds or none at all, McKim gave the subject of his artwork all the attention, allowing the viewer to absorb the subject matter and gain an appreciation for the creature depicted.
