John Franklin Koenig

Landing at Cherbourg with the 11th Armored Division in 1944, he immediately fell in love with France and French culture.

Around this time he also became interested in the work of Northwest artists such as Mark Tobey and Morris Graves.

After finishing his studies Koenig remained in Paris, working at the bookstore of Jean-Robert Arnaud, who became his longstanding professional and personal partner.

In 1950 the two opened the Galerie Arnaud (which lasted until 1976), and in 1955 began publication of the art review Ciamise, which was devoted entirely to non-figurative contemporary art[3] Koenig's earliest exhibitions were made up of collage work, and he would work in various media (including photography, ceramics, glass, printmaking, and textiles) throughout his career;[1][3] by the mid-1950s, however, he had focused on painting, and was gaining a reputation in France as a proponent of abstract expressionism.

In 1980, feeling hobbled by a weak economy and high taxes in France, Koenig moved back to the U.S.[3] Having bought a house in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, Koenig devoted himself to promoting the work of Northwest artists, who he felt were at that time badly underrepresented in Seattle's mainstream art institutions.

In 1991 he purchased an 18th-century farmhouse in Nancray-sur-Rimarde, 100 km south of Paris, which he converted into a country retreat and studio.

[1] In 1986, Koenig received the Gold Medal of the City of Paris and was later made a Commander of the French Order of Arts and Letters.

[5] A major retrospective of Koenig's career opened at the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Washington, two months after his passing.

[6] "The process of painting is a search for one's identity; it is an integrated part of the daily task, humble and stubborn, necessary to give form and structure and presence to a sort of glowing figure a la Blake that the artist should be.

Oh, make no mistake, the creator is too acquainted with failure, doubt, and nothingness to think that he might be a kind of pure form on the face of earth.