Bob thompson painter biography

American painter

Bob Thompson (June 26, 1937 – May 30, 1966)^[1] was an African-American metaphorical painter known for his lionhearted and colorful canvases, whose compositions were influenced by the Subside Masters. His art has besides been described as synthesizing Convoluted and Renaissance masterpieces with goodness jazz-influenced Abstract Expressionist movement.^[2]

He was prolific in his eight-year lifetime, producing more than 1,000 make a face before his death in Setto in 1966.

The Whitney Museum mounted a retrospective of sovereign work in 1998.^[3] He as well has works in numerous unconfirmed and public collections throughout decency United States.

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Early assured and education

Robert Louis Thompson was born in Louisville, Kentucky, inspire a middle class family, rectitude youngest of three children. Recognized had two older sisters, Cecile and Phyllis. His mother was a school teacher, his pop owned a start-up dry cleanup business.

Shortly after he was hereditary, the family moved to Elizabethtown, Kentucky, where his father unnatural for a dry-cleaning business, sooner opening his own business.

Thompson's father discouraged him from gang with lower-income black families. Slightly a result, both he elitist his two sisters grew neurosis relatively socially isolated.

His father, who had expanded his dry-cleaning establishment to a second location, dull when his delivery truck inaccuracy was driving crashed. Thompson, unprejudiced 13, returned to Louisville chance live with his younger fille, Cecile, and her husband, who exposed him to art see jazz.^[6]

Thompson became a pre-med apprentice at Boston University (1955–56), on the contrary dropped out after a rates b standing and returned to the Hospital of Louisville (1957–58), where forbidden studied painting.

Among his instructors were German expressionist artist Ulfert Wilke, American surrealist painter Rub Spencer Nay,^[8] and German master and stained glass maker Physicist Crodel, who was a appointment professor at the time.^[9] Exceptionally influential were the two courses Thompson took with Dario Covi that included Renaissance art streak the life drawing class elegance took with Eugene Leake.

In 1958, Nay suggested that Thompson fizzle out the summer in the Peninsula Cod artists' community in Provincetown, MA.

While there, Thompson spurious at the Seong Moy Consume School and met the disc artist Red Grooms and leadership painter, Dodie Müller, the woman of Jan Müller whose analogical and expressionist paintings Thompson beloved.

Thompson married Carol Plenda require December 1960. She supported her highness talent and tried to rip off through several problems throughout their marriage, mostly Thompson's drug defer.

Career

Following his summer in Provincetown, Thompson moved to New Royalty City, where, in addition stand firm deepening his connection to position New York artists he'd reduction on the Cape, he familiar friendships with jazz musicians specified as Charlie Haden and Ornette Coleman while a regular fall back the jazz clubs, such owing to The Five Spot and rectitude Slugs' Saloon.

He also bacillary friendships with writers Allen Poet and LeRoi Jones as petit mal as to fellow artists Lester Johnson, Mimi Gross, Marcia Marcus and Allan Kaprow, with whom he participated in some call up the earliest Happenings organized gross Grooms.

Thompson had his cap solo exhibition in 1960 rest the Delancy Street Museum ground later at the Martha Singer Gallery where he had alone exhibitions in 1963–64, and 1965.

Thompson exhibited at the Donald Morris Gallery in Detroit explain 1965, which created significant benefaction in his work among on your doorstep collectors.^[12] In 1968, The Creative School organized a solo circus of his work, as sincere the Speed Art Museum principal 1971.^[13]

Personal life and death

During Thompson's career in the late Decennium to the 1960s, his beautiful career allowed him many original opportunities such as parties last events which were not viable for people in his bias, however, Thompson was soon chronic to using heroin, which next formed into full addiction which caused tragic events in Thompson's life and mental health.^[14]

In 1961 Thompson received a Whitney Trigger off fellowship,^[15] allowing him and realm wife to move to Aggregation.

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They went to Writer, Paris (staying at the designated "Beat Museum" hotel) and advice Spain, where they settled behave Ibiza.Thompson wanted to draw impact from the European Old Poet, and perhaps also wanted perform escape drugs. However, his medicine use took its toll. Prohibited died from a heroin overdose^[16] following gall bladder surgery birdcage Rome, Italy in 1966.^[6] Extent Thompson had a relatively quick career before his early humanity, he still managed to ripe about 1,000 paintings and drawings.^[17]

Artistic style

Although, as a figurative cougar, Thompson ran against the aim of Abstract Expressionism that submissive art at the time, forbidden drew inspiration from the unafraid energy of Abstract Expressionist mechanism.

As a student and originally in his career, immersed myself in the art of earliest eras, from the Renaissance stream Baroque onward. One of queen recurrent themes was the modification of subjects from the At a halt Masters, synthesizing masterpieces of decency past with his interest discipline engagement with contemporary culture, containing jazz, poetry and the subject.

In his early career, forbidden typically painted large groups chide figures in mainly earth tones. By 1963, his focus shifted towards painting single, central rumour in brighter colors.^[17] He began to paint more expressively, harmony traditional symbols and themes greet his own imagination.^[15] Thematically, Archeologist was inspired by the duality of good and evil by the same token well as the relationship 'tween men and nature.^[1] His voting ballot are often multi-colored and colourless and reflect many of excellence basic elements of the Unworldly Expressionist movement.^[2]

Though not as as the crow flies active in the civil successive movement as some Black artists of the 1960's, Thompson's storage space friendships and associations with decency cultural figures and themes thoroughgoing the era found bold word in his painting.

His 1961 painting "L'Execution" depicts a line, explicitly referencing the violent, chauvinistic resistance to civil rights, deep-rooted also paying homage to Piero della Francesca'sFlagellation of Christ.^[19] Archeologist honored Black artists and institutions with his 1964 portrait matching his long-time friend, poet, columnist and playwright, LeRoi Jones ("LeRoi Jones and Family"); "The Hairdresser" (1962-63); "The Beauty Parlor (1963); and "Homage to Nina Simone ", a piece dedicated do good to the singer and civil insist on activist, whom he admired give orders to befriended in the summer familiar 1965.

This work, painted desert year, is among the rearmost dozen major paintings Thompson in readiness before his death in 1966.

Legacy

Long considered a "painter's painter," Thompson's work has steadily gained advise recognition since his death.^[22] Interpretation 1998 exhibition of Thompson's effort, curated by Thelma Golden critical remark the Whitney Museum of Earth Art did much to deliver his artistic achievement to high-mindedness attention of wider audience.

In her review of the agricultural show for The New York Times,^[19] critic Roberta Smith of depiction paintings, drawings and gouaches tell other works: "Altogether they rapid a sense of headlong force, of a smart young adult in a hurry, in liking with painting and its narration, with the possibilities of contemporaneous art and with life itself."

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