Bob Thompson Art
American, 1937-1966
An African-American, Bob Thompson had success in the 1960s as an artist, which was unusual for black artists of that era and led to his becoming a pivotal figure for African-American artists and for art historians. However, his life was cut short when he died in Rome in 1966 just before his twenty-ninth birthday.
Thompson was a modernist who adapted Paul Gauguin's Fauvist use of interlocking planes of bright colors. He often used Biblical subjects, and created an effect of idealized, faceless figures. Among his paintings were Flagellation of Christ and St. George and the Dragon.
Living among avant-garde artists in New York City, where he briefly had a studio on Rivington Street, and in Provincetown, Massachusetts, he was at odds with the prevalent Pop and Op art style of the time. He was also rebellious in that he declined to fill the traditional black- artist role of doing narrative, genre work about black life in America, nor was he willing to do pure abstraction, which was being touted as an expression of universal experience.
Raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Thompson had a year of frustrating pre-med studies at Boston University from 1955 to 1956, and then returned to Louisville and began art studies at the University of Louisville, where he met he met fellow student Sam Gilliam, as well as G. Caliman Coxe and Kenneth Victor Young. In 1958, he went to Provincetown, Massachusetts where he was influenced to move from abstraction to more figurative art. There he associated with figurative expressionists Lester Johnson, Red Grooms, Mimi Gross and Gandy Brodie.
In 1959, he moved to New York's Lower East Side, not far from where Benny Andrews lived, and participated in group shows and single gallery exhibitions. In 1961, he first went to Europe, traveling in Rome, Madrid and Paris, and he returned in 1963. He also became a regular part of the downtown painters' and musicians' scene in New York.
In 1998, the Whitney Museum of American Art held a retrospective of his figurative abstract work. Joseph Hirshorn donated 15 of Thompson's works to the Hirshorn Museum. His market value continues to sharply rise.(Biography provided by Lincoln Glenn)
to
1
1
1
1
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
1
1
1
1
10,388
4,727
2,524
2,433
1
1
1
1
Artist: Bob Thompson
"Untitled" Bob Thompson, Figurative Black Art, African-American, Gauguin Fauvist
By Bob Thompson
Located in Larchmont, NY
Bob Thompson (1937 - 1966)
Untitled, 1964
Felt tip pen on printed paper
11 x 20 1/2 inches
Provenance:
The artist
Kathy Komaroff Goodman (gift from the artist)
Hollis Taggart, New Y...
Category
1960s Fauvist Bob Thompson Art
Materials
Paper, Magazine Paper, Felt Pen
Related Items
Elodie (Standing - Galliano, Paris), Mixed media on Pergamenata parchment
By Howard Tangye
Located in London, GB
Howard Tangye (b.1948, Australia) has been an influential force in fashion for decades. Lecturing at London’s Central Saint Martins for 35 years, including 16 years as head of BA Wom...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Bob Thompson Art
Materials
Carbon Pencil, Color Pencil, Graphite, Other Medium, Paint, Paper, Parch...
H 39.38 in. W 27.56 in.
Nobu (Sitting, Arms on Pillow), Mixed media on Pergamenata parchment
By Howard Tangye
Located in London, GB
Howard Tangye (b.1948, Australia) has been an influential force in fashion for decades. Lecturing at London’s Central Saint Martins for 35 years, including 16 years as head of BA Wom...
Category
2010s Contemporary Bob Thompson Art
Materials
Paint, Paper, Parchment Paper, Chalk, Charcoal, Oil Crayon, Oil Pastel, ...
H 39.38 in. W 27.56 in.
Matthew (Lying, Hand Under Head - Blues), Mixed media on Pergamenata parchment
By Howard Tangye
Located in London, GB
Howard Tangye (b.1948, Australia) has been an influential force in fashion for decades. Lecturing at London’s Central Saint Martins for 35 years, including 16 years as head of BA Wom...
Category
2010s Contemporary Bob Thompson Art
Materials
Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper, Vellum, Pen, Pencil, ...
Matthew (Two Figures, Overlapping), Mixed media on ochre parchment
By Howard Tangye
Located in London, GB
Howard Tangye (b.1948, Australia) has been an influential force in fashion for decades. Lecturing at London’s Central Saint Martins for 35 years, including 16 years as head of BA Wom...
Category
2010s Contemporary Bob Thompson Art
Materials
Paint, Paper, Parchment Paper, Charcoal, Crayon, Oil Crayon, Oil Pastel,...
H 39.38 in. W 27.56 in.
Nobu (Lying Down, on side), Mixed media on Rives paper
By Howard Tangye
Located in London, GB
Howard Tangye (b.1948, Australia) has been an influential force in fashion for decades. Lecturing at London’s Central Saint Martins for 35 years, including 16 years as head of BA Wom...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Bob Thompson Art
Materials
Pen, Pencil, Carbon Pencil, Color Pencil, Graphite, Other Medium, Paint,...
Tom Cawson (Sitting - Hand on Head), Mixed media on grey cardboard
By Howard Tangye
Located in London, GB
Howard Tangye (b.1948, Australia) has been an influential force in fashion for decades. Lecturing at London’s Central Saint Martins for 35 years, including 16 years as head of BA Wom...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Bob Thompson Art
Materials
Charcoal, Oil Crayon, Oil Pastel, Pastel, Wax Crayon, Ink, Archival Ink,...
H 33.08 in. W 23.35 in.
Francesco (Stretching), Mixed media on Pergameneta parchment
By Howard Tangye
Located in London, GB
Howard Tangye (b.1948, Australia) has been an influential force in fashion for decades. Lecturing at London’s Central Saint Martins for 35 years, including 16 years as head of BA Wom...
Category
2010s Contemporary Bob Thompson Art
Materials
Archival Paper, Pen, Pencil, Carbon Pencil, Color Pencil, Graphite, Pain...
H 39.38 in. W 27.56 in.
Giorgio (Two figures, pink & blue), Mixed media on Pergameneta parchment
By Howard Tangye
Located in London, GB
Howard Tangye (b.1948, Australia) has been an influential force in fashion for decades. Lecturing at London’s Central Saint Martins for 35 years, including 16 years as head of BA Wom...
Category
2010s Contemporary Bob Thompson Art
Materials
Charcoal, Crayon, Oil Crayon, Oil Pastel, Pastel, Wax Crayon, Mixed Medi...
H 39.38 in. W 27.56 in.
Maria Nishio (Profile - Browns), Mixed media on Pergamenata parchment
By Howard Tangye
Located in London, GB
Howard Tangye (b.1948, Australia) has been an influential force in fashion for decades. Lecturing at London’s Central Saint Martins for 35 years, including 16 years as head of BA Wom...
Category
2010s Contemporary Bob Thompson Art
Materials
Other Medium, Paint, Paper, Parchment Paper, Chalk, Charcoal, Crayon, Oi...
H 39.38 in. W 27.56 in.
Giorgio (Sunflowers, rainbow, mask), Mixed media on Pergameneta parchment
By Howard Tangye
Located in London, GB
Howard Tangye (b.1948, Australia) has been an influential force in fashion for decades. Lecturing at London’s Central Saint Martins for 35 years, including 16 years as head of BA Wom...
Category
2010s Contemporary Bob Thompson Art
Materials
Charcoal, Crayon, Oil Crayon, Oil Pastel, Pastel, Wax Crayon, Ink, Mixed...
H 39.38 in. W 27.56 in.
Jake II (Red coat), Mixed media on Pergameneta parchment
By Howard Tangye
Located in London, GB
Howard Tangye (b.1948, Australia) has been an influential force in fashion for decades. Lecturing at London’s Central Saint Martins for 35 years, including 16 years as head of BA Wom...
Category
2010s Contemporary Bob Thompson Art
Materials
Paint, Paper, Parchment Paper, Charcoal, Crayon, Oil Crayon, Oil Pastel,...
H 39.38 in. W 27.56 in.
Emilie (Sitting, Legs Out - Pinks), Mixed media on Pergamenata parchment
By Howard Tangye
Located in London, GB
Howard Tangye (b.1948, Australia) has been an influential force in fashion for decades. Lecturing at London’s Central Saint Martins for 35 years, including 16 years as head of BA Wom...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Bob Thompson Art
Materials
Archival Paper, Handmade Paper, Vellum, Pen, Felt Pen, Pencil, Gesso, Ca...
Bob Thompson 1937 1966 American art for sale on 1stDibs
Find a wide variety of authentic American Bob Thompson 1937 1966 art available for sale on 1stDibs. Not every interior allows for large Bob Thompson American art in 1937 1966, so small editions measuring inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find and find the work of. Bob Thompson 1937 1966 American art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $NaN and tops out at $NaN, while the average work can sell for $NaN.