Jock Ewing's Portrait
How Jim Davis's screen presence lived on in one of the most memorable images from Dallas.
The portrait
Following the death of Jim Davis, who played Jock Ewing, in 1981, the producers wanted to keep his presence central to Dallas. To do so, they commissioned artist Ro Kim to paint Davis's portrait in the style of the old masters.
Ro Kim
Kim had begun painting in oils at the age of seven in Seoul, South Korea, and later studied at the University of Korea before further developing his talent through work in Japan and France.
What happened to the portrait
Kim painted two portraits of Jim Davis as Jock Ewing. One was given to Davis's widow, Blanche, while the other remained with the production and became the best-known Jock Ewing portrait seen on the series.
When Dallas ended in 1991, Larry Hagman took the painting with him. Shortly before his death, he sold it at auction, where it fetched $39,680. The Hagmans had also commissioned their own portrait of Jim Davis as Jock Ewing.