Going to the Source: The Work of William J. Thompson

COVER IMAGE: William

l.

ThomPson

"Spirit of Athens",1996, Bronze Rotary Club Commission for the City of Athens Photo: Wingate Dozuns

GOING TO THE

SOURCE THE \rORK OF \flLLIAM

J.

THOMPSON

Curated by Jean Westmacott Brenau University Galleries Gainesville, Georgia October 27 -Decernber 14,1997

Chattahoo.n"" VlU"y

tut Museum

LaGrange, Georgia

February6-March31,1998 Colquitt C"r.ay Arts Center 'Moultrie,

Georgia November - December, 1998

Co-sponsored by

Brenau University Galleries

Gainesville, Georgia

Georgia Museum of

Art

Universify of Georgra, Athens, Georgia.

To the memory of

William

l.

Thompson,

a man who gently inspired others through crentiae example and strength of character, born of faith

and

Claire Thompson for her dedicated ffirts towards making this project a reality.

ACKNO\TLEDGEMENTS William Thompson was both a mentor and a friend to me for many years as he was to so many artists and students in the Athens area and at the University of Georgia. He and I discussed the possibiLity of a retrospective exhibition a few months before his tragic death two years ago. After Thompson's death, Georgia Museum of Art Director Dr.William Eiland felt that it would be appropriate to explore the idea of a traveling exhibition co-sponsored by the Brenau University Galleries and the Georgia Museum of Art as a coflunemorative gesture to someone who was an important part of Georgia's artistic life over the past thirty years.

Claire Thompson has been incredibty helpful and generous with her time. She has provided invaluable research material and extensive loans of work for this memorial exhibition. She also has assisted in procuring the loan of work from collections other than her own. I am grateful to Vic McCallum and Ross Banks for their assistance in readying and repairing works for the exhibitioru especially some of the works rclating to Thompson's significant Georgia comrnissions.

To organize any event of this complexity requires the efforts of many people' The gallery staff of Brenau University Galleries, especially assistant curato4 Mary Beth Looney, public relations director, Ann Mahefkey, and the Brenau maintenance staff have my grateful appreciation for their respective contributions. Dr. William Eiland and his staff at the Georgia Museum of Art have been very supportive with their co-sponsorship of the exhibition. The state-wide tour of Going to the Source: The Work of William l. Thompson is co-sponsored by the Georgia Museum of Art Tiaveling Exhibition Service. Robinson-Humphrey/Smith Bamey of Athens, and its corPorate parent, tavelers Group, provide generous support for this service through the Tiavelers Foundation of New York.

I also would like to thank Keith Rasmussen of the Chattahoochee Valley Art Museum and Jane Simpson of the Colquitt CountyArts Center for providing the initial venues for Going to the Source: TheWork of William l. Thornpson as the exhibition continues to travel through Georgia for two years. \Arhen the artist was dating his future wife, Claire lectured Bill on her opinions about the direction of modem art. Bill listened attentively and then said, "You know Claire, that getting to know art is just like getting to lcrow a person." Lr the pnccess of curat-

ing and organizing an exhibition to honor William Thompson's achievements, it has been my great pleasure getting to know the artist as well as the person. jean Westmacott, Curator Brenau University Galleries

COINC TO THE SOURCE THE LIFE AND !rORK OF \flLLIAM

J.

THOMPSON

For William Thompson, creation was a spiritual act. His personal faith was integrated with his life and work. The Thompson family had western roots and a deep com-

mitment to Catholicism. He was born April 79 , 1926 in Denver, Colorado where the family had lived for a long time. He was the youngest of five children of Oliver and Mary Delores (May) Thompson. His father worked for Davis Rubber Company. The company moved them to Rhode Island - a difficult transition for May Thompson, who loved the mountains. Shortly after the move, the company was restrucfured and Oliver Thompson was let go.

The apparent setback proved to be a boon, as Oliver Thompson was an industrious businessman. He used the opportunity to start his own, more profitable, business making molds for the Titleist golf ball. The family bought a big, old house in Barrington, Rhode Island, across the street from his future bride Claire McCabe.

According to his mother, Thompson's interest in sculpture began very early - with a penchant for biting animal shapes out of bread. At age fourteen, while Thompson was convalescing from scarlet fever, his mother gave him a book on Michelangelo. The sculptures he saw were a revelation, and he made his decision to be a sculptor. This desire persisted, encouraged by his mottrer and especially by an older cousin ]ohn Walsh, a Jesuit priest. In fact, for a time, Thompson considered entering the priesthood.

The family was devoutly Catholic and faith would always be the keystone of Thompson's existence. It was with some trepidation that Thompson arurounced his intention to pursue sculpfure as a career. Oliver Thompson was a Angel,1963-1964 rather stem and practical man. His only reaction to his son's announcement was, "Bill, that's a hell of a business." Howeveq, he never tried to change his son's mind.

Thompson studied art at Rhode Island School of Design. His studies were interrupted by service in the army n1946-47. After his return, he completed his undergraduate degree and continued on to earn his Masters of Fine Arts degree at Cranbrook Academy in Michigan n1952. Upon returning to Rhode Island to do studio work, he renewed his friendship with his now grow'n-up neighbor, Claire McCabe.

Claire had opened a nursery school in her home and had developed an interest itt PrPpetry. Their friendship changed to love when she enlisted Thompson's help in making her marionettes. They married in1954 after Thompson secured a position on the art

faculty at Ohio State Universi$. 11:.1964, Lamar Dodd invited Thompson to become part of the University of Georgia art department. The Thompsons and their children made the move to Athens, Georgia. The couple would eventually have six children Sara, Michael, Joru Elizabeth, Joseph and Megan. All were born in Ohio except Megan.

Thompsory like most artists, absorbed and incorporated ideas from artists whose work he admired. The most influential artists for Thompson were Auguste Rodin, Georges Rouault, Ernst Barlach and Jacob Epstein.

Rodin was the artist he most admired for the vigorous, light-enhancing surfaces of his sculptures as well as flre emotional authenticity of his work. Rouault's spiritually expressive power impressed Thompson as much as Barlach's combination of figural subjects and strong elemental forms. The . taut emotional tension of Epstein's exaggerBaptism, 1965-1966 ated, elongated figures and humanitarian concerns also had a profound impact on Thompson's artistic evolution. These influences combined with Thompson's intrinsic style as seen in his early wood carvings Madonna and Child and Moses, both completed in 1952. In Moses, the simplified swelling forms of Moses and the gilded calf he lifts heavenward perfectly express the blend of a spiritual subject with earthly, artistic concems. The spiritual connection is enhanced by the pictographic markings alluding to sacred texts scratched into Moses'back.

Thompson was proficient in the use of a wide array of media: stone and wood carving, clay, wax,bronze, polyester resins and printmaking techniques, particularly

etching. In an early commission of 7959-60 for St. Andrew's Catholic Church in Columbus, Ohio, Thompson depicted St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, striding forward carrying before him like a badge of honor the X-formed cross upon which he was mar-

tyred. Due to cost concerns, the original piece was cast in polyester resin and fiberglass, patinaed to resemble bronze. Now replaced by a more permanent bronze castirg, the original fiberglass version Organic Flight 1,1971 was refumed to Claire Thompson and restored for inclusion in the opening exhibition at Brenau. rn1961,-62, Thompson carved two thirty-foot limestone reliefs for St. Christopher's Church in Columbus, ohio. The panels flanking the entrance of the church were divided into triangularbased forms on one side and circular forms on the other. The panels trace St. Christopher's quest for the strongest power like a twentieth century continuous narrative, reviving medieval tuaditions or even Trajan's column.

Angel figures, processional figures and biblical stories were interwoven with portraits, secular commissions and abstract pieces throughout Thompson's career. Angel of 1963-64was worked directly from wax sheets and cast in bronze, retaining the fresh immediacy of inspiration. Angel imagery intrigued Thompson with the link between the human and the divine. The possibility of transformation was thked not only on a spiritual level but on an aesthetic level as well. The near abstraction of Angel could become total abstraction in a work llke Organic Flight l. hr this work, the multiple parts can be arranged in various combinations that recall Henry Moore's juxtaposition of relating forms.

Thompson's expressive power can be seen in his purely secular subjects as well as those of a spiritual context. Conquistador Wearing Ander sono ill e Memor ial, 197 6 laguar Skin was done in 1968 while on a 7

research break in Mexico, an experience that had a Powerful impact on him. The title and the piece itself suggest an inter-

twining of human and animal, of European and Aztec, as well as the confusion of

identitY

as

to which is considered savage or civilized. Thompson made the transition from small to large scale and back again with apparent ease. In 1973,hewon the Richard Russell

Competition for a fourteen-foot

Habakkuk,1990-199t

bronze of the legendary senator. \Mhile researching details, Thompson tried to discover how tall the man was.

Everyone had a different oPinion ranging hom 5'7" to 6' 4".

Finally, Thompson asked Dean Rusk, then residing inAthens, Georgia, who knew Senator Russell welI. Rusk replied without hesitation, "I don'I know - I always approached the Senator on my knees."

Thompson's small works often have a monumental feel as inlis Annunciation, a bronze frorn\976. Although orly 21" high, the rising expansive form of God takes on an awesome scale. Figurative elements emelge and dissolve within abstract forms, balancing mystery with eloquent human detail and gesture. An aspect of Thompson's artistic genius was his ability to digest a complex subject and transform it into a powerfuf yet simple and direct, physical form. one of Thompson's most powerful commissioned works was the 1976 Andersonrtille Memorial. Morc than any other, this work demonstrates the universal quality of Thompson's spiritual values. A comparison with Rodin's Burghers of Calais is inevitable. In Rodin's work, each figure is shown confronting the prospect of imminent death with the full range of emotional possibilities as they offer themselves to the English attackers in order to end the terrible siege of their city. Simitarly, in Thompson's Andersonville piece, each figure elevates the response to suffering from the grim endurance of the stooped wounded figure to the transcendence and compassion embodied in the hooded figure' Much of Thompson's personal work deals with biblical themes drawn from both the old and New Testaments. In St. loseph's Dream of 1977,Ltte angel is shown whispering in the sleeping Ioseph's ear that he must not send Mary away, that she is blameless and is carrying the son of the Lord. A multilevel configuration is extended to three tiers in Baptism, done in 1965. At the top of the piece, a cloud or wingLike form con-

taining a shape s).nnbolic of the eye of God and the Holy Spirit hovers over a regal, winged angel in the act of baptizrng the figure seated below With uptumed face, the recipient awaits the sacrament of his faith, providing a visually directional return to the eye of God. Habakkuk, a 1991 terracotta, shows Thompson's appreciation of the lighter, more comic possibilities within biblical sources. Habakkuk was a landowner feeding his field laborers when an angel appeared requesting food for Daniel in the lion's den. After a series of various excuses, the landowner finally repLied that he did

not know the way. The angel picks him up by the scruff of his neck, complete with a lunch pail, and flew him to Daniel.

Thompson developed an elegant line in drawing,

capturing the essence of his subject with deceptive simplicity and often a joyful exuberance reminiscent of Matisse. This quality of line is retained in Thompson's printwork, ranging from simple figure sfudies to more compler works like Mother Ezte, completed tn1987.Eve, gaztng impassively out at the viewer, sits amid her diminutive progeny,

w i.:}Q\K

:::li,::1:,,: :,:il:rit::as:r,

.:iil.:lillrJ:

spread out as prolific as

blades of grass. Her lush

hair is filled with further evidence of nature's fecundity. The book of Genesis

provided

a

rich source of

imagery for much of Thompson's printwork as Mother Eue,1986-\987 in his print suite, The Adom ond Eae Slory, tracing the dramatic episodes of the creation and the Garden of Eden.

Thompson often seemed to want his work to deSr gravity. His 1980 sixteen-foot bronze for the St. John of the Cross Church in Western Springs, Illinois, has St. John reaching toward illuminated plexiglass rays suspended from the ceiling. Tabernacle, also from 1980, was done for the Holy Family Church in Marietta, Georgia. The theme is the dramatic moment when the avenging angel, sword in hand, swoops down to kill the firstborn sons of families not protected by the sign of the blood of the lamb

over the door. ln Thompson's work, the angel is shown with his head and sword tumed downward, feet in the ai1, poised for righteous vengeance. The tabemacle itself appears as a post and lintel form with the image of the good shepherd at one end. \A/heat and grapes appear at the other end as symbols of the Eucharist. By ptrlling the lamb in the center of the lintel, a door opens to reveal the Hebrew word for God Yahweh. Er.en in Wingwalker, Thompson's l992Ltndbergh Memorial for Souther Field in Americus, Georgia, the figure appears weightless, joyfu-llv windwhipped and suspended in air, recalling Lindbergh's early

bamstorming experiences.

Thompson's last project was the Spirit of Athens, a comrnission for the Rotary Club of Athens, Georgia. The day before he went into the hospital for the last time, he finished the face of the clay model. About ten years earlier, Thompson had been misdiagnosed Tabenucle,7988 with bone marrow cancer and told he had only a year to live. After a strange series of events he was finally, accurately, diagnosed by the Mayo clinic as having a problem with his pituitary gland. Surgery and therapy added nine years to Thompson's life.

The figure of Spirit of Athats holds aloft a torch as it appeats to ascend sky,ward, attempting to break the bonds of earth. I like to think of it as a s)zmbol of the continuance of William Thompson's ongoing spirit.

For he zuill gioe his angels charge of you to guard you in all your zoays,

On their hands they will bear you up,...

Psalms 9L.11 Jean Westmacott,

Curator Brenau University Galleries

10

ABOUT THE ARTIST William Thompson was bom on April 19 , 1926 in Denver, Colorado. After serving in the Information and Education Branch of the armed services for one yea1, he obtained a bachelor's degree in art from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1950. He earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from Cranbrook Academy in Michigan in 1952 and married Claire Ellen McCabe of Rhode Island in 1954. During 1954 the artist received his first commission for a pair of bronze altar gates for the Cathedral of St. Mary in Bristol, Rhode Island.

Thompson served as a college professor at Ohio State University in Columbus, where he also received numerous comrnissions of both a secular and religious nafure. These

included a commemorative sculpture of john F. Kennedy at the University of Dayton, Ohio, and a variety of sculptures in wood, fiberglass, cement and limestone for churches and cathedrals in that state.

Ir.1964, upon the invitation of artist and art department head Lamar Dodd, Thompson accepted a

faculty position at the University

of Georgia in Athens. TWo years later, he was promoted to graduate faculty stafus, and remained a well-respected instructor until his retirement n1989, when he was honored as Professor Emeritus. He was a member of the Southern Association of Sculptors in Columbia, South Carolina.

Thompson was elected to associWingutalker, 1992 ate member status in the National Academy of Design n 1977 and elevated to the status of Academician in 1993.

Original and updated entries on the career of William Thompson are located in the 1976 and 1978 editions of Who's IMo in American Art. In Athens, Georgia, Thompson increased his artistic output for a long list of sculp-

11

fure commissions from various sources in the southeast and the midwest. He executed bronze portraits of such University of Georgia notables as Lamar Dodd, Dean Louis Griffith, Frark Foley, Eugene P. odum and tennis coach Dan Magill. Thompson created several bronze medals for the Universitv of c,eorgia, such as medallions for the Bicentennial Comrnittee, the Honors Program and Creative Research Faculty awards.

The artist executed a monument for the Andersonr.ille \ational Park and a fifty-two inch wood carving for the Crawford w. Long Memorial, rr-hich rvas placed outside the Gilbert Health Center of the University of Georgia. Thompson maintained religious comrnissions as well: abronze sculpfure installation for St. ]ohn of the Cross Church in Chicago, Illinois, a tabemacle for the Holy Family Church in Marietta C,eorgia, and a nine-foot fiberglass scrilpture tllled Risen Christ for St. Patrick's Chuch in \orcross, Georgia. Thompson's talent and zeal for portraiture extended beyond commissions made by and for the University of Georgia officials. He won the Richard B. Russell commemorative portrait comrnission tfi 1973 and installed the fourteen-foot bronze figurative sculphlre of the senator on the State House grounds in 1975. Thompson also executed portrait sculptures of U. S . Senator Hugh Scott :lrr1972, philanthropist Robert W. Woodruff (for the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia) in 1983, and Charles Lindbergh for Souther Airfield of Americus, Georgia,1992.

Throughout his career, Thompson traveled extensively for educational as well as purely artistic pursuits. He studied pre-Columbian sculpture and worked in a bronze foundry in Mexico :u:.1969, and attended National Sculpture Conferences in Kansas, Colorado and Ontario. For the University of Georgia Ford Foundation Faculty Enrichment Program, Thompson traveled and did research in Italy, France and England.

Thompson's participation in national, regional and local juried exhibitions included periodic showings with the National Academy of Design, the Southem Association of Sculptors, and the University of Georgia faculty. The first awards eamed by the scutptor came as an honorable mention from juror Max Weber in+he Rhode Island Artist Annual exhibit at the Rhode Island Museum of Art tn 1949 . Subsequent honors included merit awards at a series of Callaway Gardens Sculpture exhibitions held from 1966 to 1969, and purchase awards initiated by Pembroke State College in Pembroke, North Carolina and the Georgia Museum of Art in Athens, Georgia, in the years of 1966 and 1964, respectively.

Thompson's work may be found in such permanent collections as that of the Georgia Power Company and the Georgia Art Commission, both of Atlanta, Georgia, as well as the Columbus Museum of Fine Arts in Columbus, Ohio. Private collections around the globe also contain works by Thompson. William Thompson died on July 13,1995 in Athens, Georgia.

12

COING TO THE SOURCE THE \yORK OF \fltLLrAM I. THOMPSON WORKS IN THE EXHIBITION Sculpture

5.

(measurements given are of sculpture size without base) * denotes works which

153/4'x71" x121/2" Collection of Claire Thompson

will not travel

6.

1. *Man, 7942-1943 painted, carved wood

Collecfion of Claire Thompson

Collection of Claire Thompson

3.

7.

+Woman, 7942-7943 painted, carved wood 3 7/8" x71/4" x1," Collection of Claire Thompson

Angel Castle,1964-1965 bronze 1,4"

x24" x121,/4"

Collection of Claire Thompson

8.

*Sailor,1942-1949

Expulsion from the Garden, 1965 bronze

painted, carved wood

727/4'x83/4" x8,, Collection of Claire Thompson

4" x11./2" x1" Collection of Claire Thompson

4.

Angel,7963-1964 bronze

233/8" x6" xS7/4,,

31/8" x71/4" xL"

2.

Samurai Angel, 1960

bronze

9.

Moses, 1950-7952 carved wood

Baptism, 1965-1966 bronze 75" x7"

281/2'x72" x8"

x5"

Collection of Dr. Frank Harrison, Athens, GA

Collection of Dolores Thompson McQuade, W.Barrington, R.i.

Detail of the Andersonaille Memorial, 13

Conquistador Wearing ]aguar Skin, 1968 bronze 10" x7

20. Nude Study,

c.1980 cast alurrLinr:m

321/2" x3/4" x9"

7/4" x6"

Collection of Claire ThomPson

Collection of Claire ThomPson

11. Angel Hosts Battling the Seven-Headed Dragon, bronze

21. *Angel and the Dragon,7990-1991 terIacotta

1968-7971,

30" x 17" x 16"- Angels, 8" x9" x 18"- Dragon Collection of Claire ThomPson

22. *Habakkuk,

231,/4" x731./2" x77 \/2" Collection of Claire ThomPson

t971,

12"

x81/2" x127/2"

23. *Fallen Angel,

9" x10" x17L/4" Collection of Claire ThomPson

1970s

bronze

24. *Dog Scratching,

143/4" x6" x5"

121./4" x78L/2" x75" Collection of Claire ThomPson

14. Annunciation,19T6 wood

341,/2' x13 1./2" x9 7/2" Collection of Claire ThomPson

Prints and Drawings

St. joseph'sDrcam,1977

25.

(given measurements include framing)

bronze 13" x131./2" x9" Collection of Claire ThomPson (original done for the National Academy of Design)

St. Anthony's Temptations in the Desert,1964 woodcut 27

1/8" x345/8"

Collection of Claire ThomPson

26.

Adam and Eve in the Garden, 1980

ink on paper

16. Processional Figwe, 7978

363/8" x281/4"

bronze

Collection of Claire ThomPson

101/4" x7 1./2" x7 3/4" Collection of Claire ThomPson

27. Reclining Nude,

1987

etching

17. Resurrection No. 1, 1978

Edrton:5/24

bronze 43"

1991

terracotta

Collection of Claire ThomPson

15.

1990-1991

terracotta

Collection of Claire ThomPson

13. Draped Figure,

199G1991

terracotta

12. Organic Flight I (Modular Sculpture), bronze

xl3"

783/8" x19"

Collection of Claire ThomPson

743/4" x74L/2"

x17" x1,6"

Collection of Claire ThomPson

Collection of Claire ThomPson

28. Father Ld'am,1986-7987

18. Annunciation,l9TS

eiching Edition: artist's Proof

bronze

2l" x12" xl6"

30I/4" x21L/1"

Collection of C1aire ThomPson

Collection of Claire ThomPson

19. Nude Study, c.1980

29. Mother Eve,

cast aluminum

371/2" x1.4t/2" x9"

198G1987

etching

Edition: artist's Proof

Collection of Claire ThomPson

30t/4" x247/4"

Coilection of Claire ThomPson 1.4

Adam and Eve Story - Print Suite, 7986-87 Numbers 30 - 42.

Collection of Claire Thompson

30. God

40. Who Told You You Were Naked?, 1986 etching

Edition: artist s proof

Creates the Universe, 1986

207/4" x1.67/4"

etching

Edition: artist s proof 1,67/4" x20 1/4"

31. Creation of the Angels,

41. The Closing of the Garden, 1986 etching

Edition: artist s proof 201,/4" x161./4"

1987

etching

Edition: artist s proof 20 1,/4"

42. The Promise,

x1.61/4"

Edition: artist

32. Angel 8aft1e,1987

20

etching

Edition: artist s proof

etching

201/4" x761/2"

Collection of Claire Thompson

44. AngelPlaying the Harp,

1986

etching

Collection of Claire Thompson 1987

etching

45. Balls,1988

Edition: artist s proof 201,/4" x761/2"

etching Edition: artist'

s

proof

30L/2'x247/4"

36. Adam and Eve Name the Animals, 1986 s

1988

drypoint etching Edition: artist's proof 207/4" xL6 1./4"

Edition: artist s proof 201,/4" x761./2"

etching Edition: artist

1987

drypoint etching Edition: artist's proof 20 1,/4" x761./4"

Edition: artist s proof

35. Creation olEve,

proof

43. Angel Caught in the Rain,

Possesses the Serpent,1987

34. Creation of Man,

s

1,/4'x167/4"

(end of print suite)

167/4" x207/4"

33. Satan

1987

etching

Collection of Claire Thompson

proof

46. Mankind Weeping

207/4" x1.61/4"

1990

ink on paper (study for print) 301/4" x241./4"

37. God with Adam and Eve in the Garden,

Collection of Claire Thompson

1986

etching Edition: artist s proof, 1st stage

47. The EyesofGodare Cryrng,7990 wash over etching, study for print

201/4" x76 1/4"

1,5" x 1,8" Collection of Claire Thompson

38. Temptation of Eve, 1986 etching

48. Celebration,1989

Edinon:7/24 20L/4" x161./4"

(University of Georgia Bicentennial Print) silkscreen

39. Temptation of Ad,am,1987

Edition: 651110

etching

357/2" x253/4"

Edition: artist s proof

Collection of Richard and Jean Westmacott

761/4" x201./4"

15

49. Damien the Leper (Father

56. Porhait of Gudmund Yigtel ,1972

Damien), 1994 lithograph Edition: 16116 24" xL83/4" Collection of Claire Thompson

50. *Psalm

patinaed plaster

74L/2" x70 3/4" x127/2" Collection of Claire Thompson 57. Transportation,

91, 1995-1997

7" x 79 7 / 4" x 13" (two pieces mounted

book of etchings and text on

on25" x 14" base)

handmade paper co-produced and printed by Rick fohnson Edition of 20: artist's proof Collection of Claire Thompson

Collection of Claire Thompson (model submitted for competition for Port Authority Mall, New York City, N.y as an idea for an interactive children's play-scape)

Commissioned Works, Portraits, Studies and Other Work

51.

1980

bronze

58. Weaver's Knot ,7992 patinaed plaster

91/2" x91/2"

*St. Andrew, 7959-1967 patinaed fiberglass

7'6" x58" x60"

project)

Claire Thompson (Commission for St. Andrews Church, Arlington, OH, replaced by a bronze version.)

59. Wingwalker,1992 (Model for the Lindbergh Memorial at Souther Field in Americus, GA) patinaed plaster 321/2" x1.6" x1.6" On loan from the Sumter Historic Tiust and Lake Blackshear Regional Library

52. Head of Hooded Figure for Andersonville Memorial,

1976

patinaed plaster cast 22L/2" x13 1./4" x7 7/2" Collection of Claire Thompson

Americus, GA

60. Head of 'Spirit of Athens,

53. Head of Wounded Figure for Andersonville Memorial , 1976

137/2" x1,67/2" x76 1./4" Collection of Claire Thompson

7/2" x13 7/2" x70"

Collection of ClAire Thompson

In addition, there are documentary photographs of some of Thompson's major religious and secular commissions, the Richard Russell commission of 7975 and the Robert W. Woodruff commission of 1983, sketchbooks that pertain to the works in the exhibition and an early collaborative children's book project with Claire

54. Portrait of Lamar Dodd, ,7972 bronze on black and grey marble base 17

1996

patinaed plaster cast

patinaed plaster cast 9

x1."

Collection of Claire Thompson (model for a Columbus Quincentennial

7/2" x721./2" x1.47/2"

Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; gift of Lamar Dodd, Athens, GA

GMOA 75.3349

Thompson.

55. Portrait of Louis Gyjffirh ,7973 bronze on black and grey marble base

1,57/2" x77" x73" Lent by a private collection

16