Joan Arend Kickbush (1926-2006 Milwaukee, WI) 1973 Alaskan Eskimo Boy & Husky Pup 12 x 6 1/4 inch watercolor & pen on paper

Joan Arend Kickbush was known for her colorful Alaska village scenes of people and children playing in their bright colored kuspuks and parkas.  During an interview in January, 2005 with Jinx Whitaker, owner of New Horizons Gallery Joan commented: "My mother said the best way to keep me quiet was to put me in a high chair with paper and pencil". 

Born March 23, 1926, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she attended Milwaukee State College and the Layton School of Art for a year.  She briefly worked as a commercial artist in Minneapolis, Minnesota, continuing with her painting in her spare time.

In 1954, she and her husband moved from Hawaii to Alaska, where Joan became a schoolteacher in Anchorage.  They stayed until 1975, and throughout all these years, Joan painted and sculpted powerful and enduring art reflecting Alaska native life, especially around her favorite village of Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island. She painted with a palette knife, the same tool for 25 years.  She was also known for her scenes of wildlife, almost always in oil on canvas.  All of her works in oil were framed by her husband, "Kick".   She was instrumental in establishing the Art Museum of Alaskan artists in Anchorage. 

After leaving Alaska, they lived and worked in Oregon, California, Arizona, and Wisconsin.  Her art forms (subject matter) changed according to the areas she lived, depicting Southwest peoples and landscapes for example, while living in Arizona.

Joan Arend Kickbush died June 16, 2006, in Delafield, Wisconsin, at the age of 80.

Source:
Obituary, Anchorage Daily News, July 6, 2006.