King had a first solo show at Victor Musgrave’s Gallery One in 1954. He was awarded a Boise Travelling Scholarship and a grant from the British Film Institute to make an animated film. Difficulties in King’s personal life led to experiment in his work, some of which reflected this disturbed state. A suicide attempt led to a period in hospital, shortly after which he died in a motorcycle accident. King’s work was also shown in galleries in Paris and Rome; he was represented at the Holland Park Exhibition, 1957; Middelheim Exhibition, 1959; and in 1960 his oak Figure with Cloak was shown at Battersea Park. The family retained a sizeable collection of King’s work, which was also held by the Arts Council, British Council and Contemporary Art Society. A collection of King’s sculptures and coloured, jazz-influenced drawings was offered by Rosebery’s, West Norwood, in a 2002 sale. His son was the artist and teacher Mike King.