King D. Brock

[1] King Brock was born Kingsley Dawson Brock on February 3, 1912 in Pasadena California.

Biography

He attended Grover Cleaveland Elementary School Pasadena,Ca, John Muir Technical High School, Pasadena Junior College and the Stickney Art School. He was also the first African American to have a one man Exhibition at Pasadena Jr. College May 17-25, 1935 in the second floor hall and in room 201 of the Parochial School. King Brock was a W.P.A. artist, infact he was a teacher in the program that help develope artist like Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett and Charles White the federally sponsored Works Progress Administration art project during the depression and served as an art illustrator for the Fort MacArthur Newspaper during world War II.

[2] From 1952-1958 and 1967, King Brock was a featured artist in the Women's Sunday Morning Breakfast Club's(WSMBC) Cinderella International Souvernir Book. The WSMBC, an organization founded by Theresa Lindsay, the wife of Councilman Gilbert Lindsay sought to help the poor,educate the youth, honor the aged, and contribute to the agencies that helped the disenfranchised. Many of Brock's drawings were seen as a result of the WSMBC's support, and a series of paintings entitled the "New Breed" received critical acclaim after gracing the cover of the group's annual commemorative book. Dr. Martin Luther King. This awe-inspiring piece was sponsered by Dr. Leroy Weekes and Dr. H.C. Hudson "His Dream", and it served as a representative symbol for people of all faces and races. A member of the Pasadena Artist Associates,inc. for more than 45 years and an artist that was featured at the Brockman Gallery in Leimert Park as early as 1969, King Bock was part of the art scene for a very long time. He was also involved in the first Rose Bowl art exhibit in 1971 and featured in Ebony and Jet for his expressive work. Of all the things that King Brock created in his years, King Brock said that he was most proud of "His Dream" because he felt that it captured the essence of Dr. King's message African-Americans in this country. The painting featured a picture of the slain civil rights leader in the foreground and a number of faces in the background which were symbols of a new generation. This new generation, according to King Brock, was painted to express his hope for a society that was open to freedom of creative expression without the infringement of racism and injustice.