New collection brings Sydney Laurence to life

Submitted by Anne L. Foster
Phone: (907) 474-5590
06/17/04

Historians at the University of Alaska Fairbanks recently received papers which they hope contain an intimate portrait of famed artist Sydney Laurence’s life. The Clarence Kilde papers, a gift to the Alaska and Polar Regions Collection at UAF’s Rasmuson Library, includes notes from interviews with many who knew Laurence. Laurence’s past, especially from 1894 to 1900, is still shrouded in speculation and mystery.

While a number of his paintings survive, little other biographical information is known about Laurence. The UA Museum of the North maintains a collection of 29 Laurence paintings.

Originally intended for a biography, the Kilde papers are a well-organized combination of interviews, correspondence and photographs. Clarence Kilde was a U.S. Army chaplain stationed in Alaska from 1943 1945. He became fascinated with Laurence’s life and art, and helped organize a memorial exhibit of his work in 1945. His widow gave the papers to the Rasmuson Library 14 years after Kilde’s death in May 1990. The Kilde papers are available for research in the archives of the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections, Elmer E. Rasmuson Library. Summer hours for the research room are Monday Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.