Paul Lauritz

Arizona Mountains

circa 1920

Paul Lauritz was born in Larvik, Norway, in 1889. He became a noted painter of portraits and desert landscapes based in California. Early in his career, he was in Alaska. He was raised in the picturesque Norwegian village of Larvik and exposed to famous painters from all over the world who came there for the subject matter. One of them, an English watercolorist, gave him painting lessons in exchange for his family providing board and room, and local painters Fritz Thoulaw and Christian Krogh also encouraged him as a young man. At age 16, he headed West and got a job in Vancouver, Canada and then Portland, Oregon as a commercial artist doing maps, posters and decorations. In Portland, Lauritz married Mary Potterton in 1912, and then began a career as a serious portrait artist. However, the lure of gold in Alaska took him and Mary to Sunrise Creek, where they lost money, and he vowed he would never again be distracted from his artwork. He became close to Alaska's most distinguished artist, Sydney Lawrence, who was impressed by Lauritz's determination and encouraged his art career in every way. A rare and beautiful painting by this talented artist.