By Katherine Gittman
CP Reporter
Throughout Memorial Day weekend, there were many local museums throughout the county that displayed pieces of military history from the Civil War, World War I and World War II. The Sidney E. King Arts Center was one of the museums opened that displayed murals of Civil War battle scenes painted by Sidney E. King. After opening in September 2013, the arts center became a display to showcase the artwork that King contributed.
Born in 1906, King was a resident in Massachusetts before coming to Virginia. In the 1960s he was commissioned by the National Parks Service to paint numerous battle scenes from the Civil War that took place as far as Mississippi.
Located along the right wing of the courthouse in Bowling Green, the exhibit displays 15 murals painted by Sidney King and among these murals, all of them present battle scenes that happened or historical locations in Virginia such as the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Chancellorsville and Chatham Manor located in Fredericksburg.
“He did over 200 murals and he went as far as Mississippi. [The paintings] have been outside since then and our particular 15 are the Battle of Fredericksburg, the wilderness and Chancellorsville and it’s the only place here at the arts center where you’ll have 15 of his paintings in one spot because they don’t have any museums for him so it is a historical site,” says Robin Cee, a spokesperson at the arts center.
King lived at right outside of Bowling Green at “The Willows” until his death in 2002. The exhibit also displays items by Salvador Dali who resided in Caroline in the 1940s and also painted and wrote his autobiography during World War II, according to a brochure for the arts center.
The Sidney E. King Arts Center also serves as a classroom for artists of all levels whether for children or adults. Whether it is for studio or classroom space, the arts center offers many classes for aspiring and advanced artists that includes crafts, drawing, pastels and oil painting classes. Among the classes, local art teachers or artists visiting the county teach the classes. For more information about the classes, anyone can check out the Sidney E. King Arts Center website.
The exhibit also displays artifacts from World War I and World War II that include photos, clothing, and other mementos from the time period.
Other events happen throughout the center, which includes the art walk, art show and the tile project. The annual art walk is an art show in June which is located along Main and Milford Street in Bowling Green. The annual art show showcases students and other regional artists’ work in both judging and non-judging events. And the tile project consists of attendees creating and designing a tile for the Bowling Green playground which serves as a fundraiser project for the playground.
The Sidney E. King Arts Center is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and group and private tours are given.
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