Arthur Thrall
Encyclopedia
Arthur Thrall is an American painter and printmaker. His works have been shown in more than 500 exhibits in the USA and abroad including England, Finland, Germany, and numerous US embassies. His work is in collections of the Tate Gallery
, the British Museum
, the Victoria and Albert Museum
, and the Strang Print Room of the University College London
, the Pori Library (Finland), Smithsonian American Art Museum
, the Library of Congress
, National Collection of Fine Arts, Brooklyn Museum
, Chicago Art Institute, IBM
, Hilton Hotels
, New York Times Company, Wilson Library (New York), Philadelphia Museum of Art
, Silvermine Guild Arts Center (New Canaan), DeCordova and Dana Museum, Lessing Rosenwald and Milwaukee Art Museum
, as well as numerous corporate and private collections.
Winner of many awards, Thrall also held the Louis Comfort Tiffany Fellowship in Graphics. He has been a member of The Boston Printmakers and the Society of American Graphic Artists, New York for more than 40 years, being represented in their annual shows.
Milwaukee Journal art critic James Auer called him one of Wisconsin's artists who "defy the dictates of fashion" and "whose high-styled uses of calligraphy rival those of the great age of the Ottomans".
Thrall held the Ferrar-Marrs Chair in Fine Arts at Lawrence University
in Appleton, Wisconsin until his retirement in 1990. He has been a visiting artist-teacher at the Artist's Union in Helsinki, Slade School of Art at University College and Morley College
both in London, and at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
.
Over the years, Thrall has continued to have an active exhibition schedule with solo and group shows at a variety of galleries in New York, the National Printmakers Show in Hilo Hawaii, Chicago, and more recently in Rockport, Massachusetts
, in Door County, Wisconsin, New Visions Gallery at the Marshfield Clinic and the Appleton Art Center's exhibition entitled "Symphony : Art and Music". Special exhibitions have been "150 Years of Wisconsin Printmaking" at the University of Wisconsin at the Chason Art Museum, "The Art in Music" exhibition at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and other college and university galleries throughout Wisconsin. He was commissioned to produce an edition of prints for the Wisconsin Governor’s Award for the Arts.
Books that include Thrall and his work are A Century of American Printmaking 1880-1980 by James Watrous (1984), American Prints and Printmakers by Una Johnson (1980), The Art of Written Forms by Donald Anderson (1969), The Wisconsin Story by Russell Austin (1964), and Who’s Who in America in Art and Who’s Who in America (continuing years).
In November, 1990, Thrall returned to his native Milwaukee where he has a studio in Riverwest.
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
, the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, and the Strang Print Room of the University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, the Pori Library (Finland), Smithsonian American Art Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C. with an extensive collection of American art.Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a broad variety of American art that covers all regions and art movements found in the United States...
, the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, National Collection of Fine Arts, Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an encyclopedia art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 square feet, the museum holds New York City's second largest art collection with roughly 1.5 million works....
, Chicago Art Institute, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is an international chain of full-service hotels and resorts founded by Conrad Hilton and now owned by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton hotels are either owned by, managed by, or franchised to independent operators by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Hotels became the first coast-to-coast...
, New York Times Company, Wilson Library (New York), Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
, Silvermine Guild Arts Center (New Canaan), DeCordova and Dana Museum, Lessing Rosenwald and Milwaukee Art Museum
Milwaukee Art Museum
The Milwaukee Art Museum is located on Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Beginning around 1872, multiple organizations were founded in order to bring an art gallery to Milwaukee, as the city was still a growing port town with little or no facilities to hold major art exhibitions...
, as well as numerous corporate and private collections.
Winner of many awards, Thrall also held the Louis Comfort Tiffany Fellowship in Graphics. He has been a member of The Boston Printmakers and the Society of American Graphic Artists, New York for more than 40 years, being represented in their annual shows.
Milwaukee Journal art critic James Auer called him one of Wisconsin's artists who "defy the dictates of fashion" and "whose high-styled uses of calligraphy rival those of the great age of the Ottomans".
Thrall held the Ferrar-Marrs Chair in Fine Arts at Lawrence University
Lawrence University
Lawrence University is a selective, private liberal arts college with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, in Appleton, Wisconsin. Lawrence University is known for its rigorous academic environment. Founded in 1847, the first classes were held on November 12, 1849...
in Appleton, Wisconsin until his retirement in 1990. He has been a visiting artist-teacher at the Artist's Union in Helsinki, Slade School of Art at University College and Morley College
Morley College
Morley College is an adult education college in London, England. It was founded in the 1880s and has a student population of 10,806 adult students...
both in London, and at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
.
Over the years, Thrall has continued to have an active exhibition schedule with solo and group shows at a variety of galleries in New York, the National Printmakers Show in Hilo Hawaii, Chicago, and more recently in Rockport, Massachusetts
Rockport, Massachusetts
Rockport is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,952 at the 2010 census. Rockport is located approximately 25 miles northeast of Boston at the tip of the Cape Ann peninsula...
, in Door County, Wisconsin, New Visions Gallery at the Marshfield Clinic and the Appleton Art Center's exhibition entitled "Symphony : Art and Music". Special exhibitions have been "150 Years of Wisconsin Printmaking" at the University of Wisconsin at the Chason Art Museum, "The Art in Music" exhibition at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and other college and university galleries throughout Wisconsin. He was commissioned to produce an edition of prints for the Wisconsin Governor’s Award for the Arts.
Books that include Thrall and his work are A Century of American Printmaking 1880-1980 by James Watrous (1984), American Prints and Printmakers by Una Johnson (1980), The Art of Written Forms by Donald Anderson (1969), The Wisconsin Story by Russell Austin (1964), and Who’s Who in America in Art and Who’s Who in America (continuing years).
In November, 1990, Thrall returned to his native Milwaukee where he has a studio in Riverwest.
Artist's statement
For many years music has been an inspiration for my paintings and prints. It is one of many graphic sources that have fascinated me, such as manuscripts, calligraphy, diagrams, graffiti, maps, scientific and technical charts. I freely interpret them for their gestural and textural effects rather than their literal meanings. My ideas emerge as impressionistic motifs and arrangements that echo their essence. With the musical themes, I consider them visual music or a kind of choreography. (directly from Arthur Thrall, September 2007).