Orestus Kilpatrick Uzzell, Jr., was born on January 2, 1904 in Union, Arkansas. His father, also named Orestus Kilpatrick Uzzell, was born in 1853 in North Carolina. His mother, Lillian Grogan Uzzell, was born in 1866 in N.C. The parents married in 1899 and had four children, Gladys (b.1900), Ida (b.1902), Onestus (b.1904), and Harold (b.1906). The father was a successive merchant in North Carolina.
In 1902 the father bought a large tract of undeveloped property in Union, Arkansas, where he proceeded to build the town of Uzzell.
In 1908, after having sold all of his developed parcels in the town of Uzzell, the father moved his family to Pasadena, California, where he continued to build homes as a prosperous developer. The family lived at 1122 Meridian Avenue.
In June of 1917 Orestus K. Uzzell, Jr. at the age of thirteen, completed the eighth grade.
In 1918, during the Great War, he was still too young to serve in the military.
In September of 1921 he began to attend the Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles, which was the first public school of professional art training in southern California. He studied for three years and completed the coursework in June of 1924.
In 1927 O. K. Uzzell was listed as a student at an art school in San Francisco.
In 1930 he was the art director of the film "All Quiet On The Western Front", starring Lew Ayres in a performance that won an Oscar that year.
In 1931 O. K. Uzzell assisted Andrew T. Schwartz, a muralist for the University Club of New York and the J, Pierpont Morgan Library, to paint a series of murals on various eras of art history for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri.
In 1932 the artist painted a portrait of a Hollywood star Betty Bronson.
In 1935 he was the head of the art department at Occidental College in Eagle Rock, California.
In 1936 O. K. Uzzell was hired as an associate professor of painting and sculpture at the Los Angeles Museum, where he presented a public lecture, "The ABC of Art Understanding."
On October 21, 1936 the artist's father died at the age of eighty-three in Pasadena. After this sad loss, the widowed mother lived with her unmarried son at 3268 Hillock Drive in Hollywood, CA.
In 1937 the artist was commissioned by Metro Goldwyn Mayer to paint a portrait of Tyrone Powell, as a publicity stunt, but instead of featuring the portrait at a lavish Hollywood reception, the movie star gave the painting to his mother for a Christmas present. The artist considered this a breach of contract, so he sued the Hollywood studio for $3500 in lost publicity. The lawsuit became a popular human interest story for several months in nationwide newspapers.
In 1939 he painted a portrait of the Hollywood actress Irene Dunne.
In 1940 O. K. Uzzell was listed as a college art professor at the University of Southern California.
On February 14, 1942, during World War Two, Orestus K. Uzzell reported for draft registration. At that time he was recorded to have been age thirty-eight, six feet tall, 190 pounds, with blue eyes, brown hair and a light complexion.
In November of 1944 The New York Times reported that "Drawings by Uzzell will be shown at the Grand Central Galleries, 55 East 57th Street in NYC."
In 1945 the artist was art supervisor for the movie "A Song To Remember" starring Merle Oberon and Paul Muni.
In February 6, 1946 the artist's mother died at the age of eighty in Pasadena.
In 1948 the artist was commissioned by the Democratic Women of Dallas Texas to paint a portrait of President Truman.
On December 2, 1948 the artist married the former Mrs. Ernest F. Notting of Dallas, Texas. They had no children.
In 1952 O. K. Uzzell was credited as having contributed some art work for "the new Bob Hope film."
On September 13, 1955 Onestus Kilpatrick Uzzell died of a heart attack at the age of fifty-one in a hotel room in Santa Monica, California, after returning from a business trip to Honolulu, Hawaii.
© David Saunders 2021 |
