American Regionalist · 1909–1975
Eugene Kingman painted the American landscape from life.
The national parks, the Great Plains, the Southwest. A Kingman is a piece of American history by an artist who is being discovered now.
The artist
Painter, muralist, lithographer, mapmaker and museum director.
Eugene Kingman (1909–1975) was an American Regionalist painter. In 1931, while still a student at Yale, he painted seven national parks for the National Park Service to show at the Paris Exposition.
He went on to paint New Deal post office murals, illustrate National Geographic, make maps for the OSS in the Second World War, and paint the world map that hung in the lobby of The New York Times. From 1947 to 1969 he directed the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, and he painted Nebraska's cornfields, grain elevators and storm skies in every season.
His work hangs at the Department of the Interior, the Joslyn Art Museum, the Philbrook, the Library of Congress and the Museum of Nebraska Art. Most of what remains is held by his family.
Read his story
“Art cannot get away from its period and time … art and history are inseparable and dependent on each other.”
1931
Seven national park paintings for the National Park Service, shown at the Paris Exposition. He was 21.
1937
Thirteen paintings of Crater Lake and Yosemite published in National Geographic.
1937–39
Three New Deal post office murals, in Maryland, Wyoming and Rhode Island.
1948
The world map mural in the lobby of The New York Times, now in the Omaha Central Library.
The work
Big skies, working land and the parks.
“Here at hand is a wealth of material that is expansive, yet intimate and human in all its parts.”
From the collection
Works held by the family.
Paintings, lithographs and drawings from the 1920s to the 1970s. Ask us about any work, its history and its availability.
See all 53 works
The world map mural in the lobby of The New York Times, 1948.
On view
See Kingman's work in Omaha.
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Nov 20, 2026 to Jan 2027
Terrain: An Ode to Eugene Kingman, Joslyn Castle ↗
Opening reception Friday, November 20, 2026, 6 to 8 pm
Joslyn Castle & Gardens, 3902 Davenport Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68131
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Ongoing
The Kingman Room and Gallery, Joslyn Castle
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Since April 2026
The New York Times mural, Omaha Central Library
The newsletter
Follow the work as it's being discovered.
A few times a year: new exhibitions, works becoming available, and what we're learning from his letters, catalogue cards and sketchbooks.
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Thank you. We write when there's something worth sharing: new exhibitions, works becoming available, and research on his life.
Background: Shiprock, N.M., lithograph, 1938. Unsubscribe any time.
Collecting
Bring a Kingman home.
Most works carry Kingman's own catalogue number and the history he recorded on its file card. We're glad to answer questions, send more photographs, and arrange a viewing.