Timeline

1923

Born in Kansas City, MO

1943 - 1945

Served as a medical corpsman in the US Naval Air Corps

1948 - 1952

Attended the Art Students League in New York, NY

1953 - 1954

Lived and worked in Paris, France

1953

Traveled to Europe (England, Italy, Spain, and France)

1955

Returned to New York, NY

1963

Acquired his Broadway loft from Willem de Kooning where he worked until December 2000

1964

Filming of The Ivory Knife: Paul Jenkins at Work, produced by Martha Jackson

1967

Awarded the silver medal in painting during the 30th Biennial of the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

1977

Began to work for several months in the Caribbean

1980

Named Officer of Arts and Letters by the Republic of France

1982

Recipient, the Humanitarian Award from the National Committee of Arts for the Handicapped [Very Special Arts]

1983

Named Commander of Arts and Letters by the Republic of France

1987

His dance-drama,Shaman to the Prism Seen, with his painted decors was presented at the Paris Opera, Paris, France

1996

Recipient, honorary doctorate in humanities from Hofstra University, Long Island, NY

1997

Elected to the National Academy, New York, NY; received the Life Achievement Award from the Butler Institute of American Art, together with the medal of the City of Paris, France

1998

Elected an honorary member of the Royal Cambrian Academy in Wales, UK

2000

Received the Benjamin Clinedinst Medal from the Artists' Fellowship in New York, NY

2012

Died on June 9, in New York, after a short illness