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Richard
Earl Thompson (1914-1991). "Nature's Preservationist in Paint",
Richard Earl Thompson's legacy to the world is the gift of enduring
beauty - nature captured on canvas in all its myriad moods. An American
Impressionist of renown, he has been compared to Monet, but preferred
to think of himself as "AN EXTENSION" to the impressionists
"A CONTINUING LINK." Profoundly influenced by the Master
of the French Impressionist School, he also embraced ideas from Spanish,
Italian and American painters. Creating his own unique style by incorporating
a broader 20th Century color palette, which included earth tones,
and combining painting techniques, Thompson's canvases convey a powerful
and harmonious combination of diversified subject matter, exquisite
brush work, skillful draftsmanship and luminosity. He summed up his
painting simply, "I hope I have sincerity. I have tried to interpret
things as I feel inside. I have tried not to be something I am not.
No shock treatments, no political messages, compositions based rather
on tranquil scenes - a sincere approach to painting to which all people
can relate. When drawing, the proportion is pretty well established,
and I like to devote time to the color of things as the sun creates
them. Color, then is unlimited; it is ever-changing. I see myself
not as an extension of the camera, but of the emotions these colors
can evoke." He remarked that today we have colors at our fingertips
that the early impressionists lacked so we can arrive at even greater
variations of light and color. Through the years he perfected the
use of color to such an extent that his painting vary from subtle
mood scenes and pleasant tranquil setting to high brilliance. A child
prodigy at the Chicago Academy of Fine Art at the age of 15, he was
taken under the wing of Frederick Grant, who was a student of William
Merritt Chase, one of America's great painters. From there he continued
at the American Academy of Art and then on to the Chicago Art Institute
to study under Louis Ritman. He felt strongly that the fundamental
training of drawing, color and composition instilled in those early
days provided him the sound basis from which to develop his mature
technique. Both musically and artistically gifted, at the age of 18
he made the decision to pursue a career in art rather than opera.
He felt that he had to paint in order to live fully. Thompson often
compared art to music, feeling that they were akin, only communication
in a different form. He has stated, "The world is looking for
this communication. A painting that doesn't have to be explained,
but simply portrays a beautiful feeling to which people can relate,
is communication." The combination of the Depression with the
insurgence of the Modern Art Era, and the necessity of supporting
a family, let Thompson to choose an early career in commercial art.
Many will look back with a tinge of nostalgia recalling the back covers
of the "Saturday Evening Post," some of which Thompson was
responsible for while working with Haddon Sundbloom who created many
of the famous Coca-Cola ads. Also among his commercial art credits
are the famous World War II War Bond Posters which he was commissioned
to paint by the U.S. Government. Distinguished and highly successful
as his commercial art career was, he never gave up his ambition to
have the "fine art" career for which he had been trained.
In 1959 with commercial illustration being replaced slowly by photography,
he turned to fine art as a full time career. He credited his commercial
art background with aiding him in his ability to do figures so well
and to combine landscapes and figurative works so dramatically. Sensitive
to nuance, Thompson lived a very special life among nature in the
woods of Wisconsin and on the shores of the Florida Key with his supportive
and lovely wife, Mary Munn during his highly productive years of fine
art. He said "I have thoroughly enjoyed my years of adventure
in painting; they have provided me with a way to live. What is most
important to me now is doing the thing I've always wanted to do, surrounded
by nature and those who are closest to me. What more can any man ask?"Collectors
and admirers of Richard Earl Thompson's personal expressions of nature,
which he held so dear would agree: his "small moments of time"
captured forever on canvas touch us, please the spirit and fill the
soul with joy.
To view
the Richard Earl Thompson web site click here:
Richard Thompson Gallery.com
To view Richard Earl Thompson framed canvas prints click here:
Canvas Art Prints.com
Dali
- Picasso - Monet
- Van Gogh - Matisse
- Renoir - Degas
- Chagall
