Alfred Kingsley Lawrence was a painter of pictures and murals and a draughtsman, born in Lewes Sussex.  He studied under Richard Hatton at King Edward VII School of Art in Newcastle upon Tyne and then with William Rothenstein at the Royal College of Art.  Later, in 1923, he went to Italy as a Prix de Rome winner.  A. K. Lawrence was elected a Royal Academician in1938.  He was a fine figure painter, his work having a strong underlying draughtsmanship and he was a loyal RA for many years. He was also a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and exhibited widely abroad.  Among Lawrence's notable murals are those at the Laing Art Gallery and Museum, Newcastle; the Palace of Westminster and the Bank of England