Richard Thompson
Richard Thompson (1945-2021), a third generation Oregonian and avid fly fisherman, grew up on a 150 acre family farm in Dayton, OR. He attended the University of Oregon but transferred to University of New Mexico at Albuquerque to finish his BFA and his MFA. After working as an artist in New Mexico he taught first at the University of Texas at San Antonio and then at the University of Texas at Austin where for 15 years he ran the painting department before becoming dean at the University of Art and Design at Alfred, NY, from 1997-2004. He retired from teaching in 2010. He was included in two Whitney Biennials as well at the Oregon Biennial of 2015. His paintings are in the collections of the Portland Art Museum, Hallie Ford Museum of Art, (Salem, OR) Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, (Eugene, OR), Modern Art Museum, (Ft. Worth, TX), Maryhill Museum, (Maryhill, WA), Amarillo Art Museum, (Amarillo, TX), Edinburgh Museum of Modern Art, (Scotland), Museum of Fine Arts, (Houston, TX), Art Museum of South Texas, (Corpus Christi) and many others. His exhibition history is as extensive as his list of private and public collectors.
“For the patient viewer, standing and looking at a painting, learning the internal structure, the pace of the brush marks, the cross conversation between colors and shapes, can be a rewarding human experience,” says Richard Thompson. “I wasn’t interested in this 30 years ago. I wanted to be loud, like everyone else. Now I want to make paintings that are quiet and solemn.”
