Bob Thompson (June 26, 1937 – May 30, 1966)^[1] was an African-American figurative painter known for his bold and colorful canvases, whose compositions were influenced by the Old Masters. His art has also been described as synthesizing Baroque and Renaissance masterpieces with the jazz-influenced Abstract Expressionist movement.^[2]

He was prolific in his eight-year career, producing more than 1,000 works before his death in Rome in 1966. The Whitney Museum mounted a retrospective of his work in 1998. He also has works in numerous private and public collections throughout the United States.

Robert Louis Thompson was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He later moved to Elizabethtown, Kentucky, due to his father opening a new dry-cleaning business. Thompson was told to not be associated with the lower-income black family.

His father died in a car crash when he was 13, and Thompson lived with relatives, his older sister and her husband, who exposed him to art and jazz.^[3]

During Thompson's maturity, his mother instilled higher education unto him and soon, he briefly became a pre-med student at Boston University (1955–56), but soon dropped out and returned to the University of Louisville (1957–58), where he studied painting under German expressionist artist Ulfert Wilke, American surrealist painter Mary Spencer Nay,^[4] and German painter and stained glass maker Charles Crodel, who was a visiting professor at the time.^[5]

Thompson's family consisted of himself, his mother, and his older sister and her husband, his brother-in-law, Thompson's father died in a car accident when he was only 13 years old. His mother was a school teacher, his father owned a start-up dry cleaning business. His sister's occupation was unknown.

Later on, Thompson married Carol Plenda who he remained faithful towards. She supported his talent and tried to work through several problems throughout their marriage, namely, Thompson's drug use. Thompson's family was never discussed much with him, due to his father's untimely passing, and as they would rarely be brought up.

In 1958 Thompson moved to New York City, where he formed friendships with jazz musicians such as Charlie Haden and Ornette Coleman while a regular at the jazz clubs, such as The Five Spot and the Slugs' Saloon. He also formed friendships with writers Allen Ginsberg and LeRoi Jones in addition to fellow artists Lester Johnson, Red Grooms, Mimi Gross, Marcia Marcus and Allan Kaprow, with whom he participated in some of the earliest Happenings. In 1960, he had his first solo exhibition at the Delancy Street Museum and later at the Martha Jackson Gallery where he had solo exhibitions in 1963–64, and 1965. Thompson exhibited at the Donald Morris Gallery in Detroit in 1965, which created significant interest in his work among local collectors.^[6] In 1968, The New School organized a solo exhibition of his work, as did the Speed Art Museum in 1971.^[7]

During Thompson's career in the late 1950s to the 1960s, his artistic career allowed him many new opportunities such as parties and events which were not possible for people in his position, however, Thompson was soon addicted to using heroin, which later formed into full addiction which caused tragic events in Thompson's life and mental health.^[8]

Thompson soon married in 1960 and moved with his wife Carol Plenda to Europe in 1961 after receiving a Whitney Foundation fellowship.^[9] They went to London, Paris (staying at the so-called "Beat Museum" hotel) and to Spain, where they settled in Ibiza.Thompson wanted to draw inspiration from the European Old Masters, and perhaps also wanted to escape drugs. However, his drug use took its toll. He died from a heroin overdose^[10] following gall bladder surgery in Rome, Italy in 1966.^[3] While Thompson had a relatively short career before his early death, he still managed to complete about 1,000 paintings and drawings.^[11]

Thompson spent much of his time during his early career visiting museums and drawing inspiration from earlier art. One of his major artistic goals was to reinterpret themes and subjects from the Old Masters. By synthesizing Baroque and Renaissance masterpieces with the jazz-influenced Abstract Expressionist movement, Thompson was able to make the art of the past more relevant for contemporary - and particularly African-American - audiences.^[11] In his early career, he typically painted large groups of figures in mainly earth tones.^{[citation needed]}

In 1963, his focus shifted towards painting single, central events in brighter colors. He began to paint more expressively, combining traditional symbols and themes with his own imagination.^[9] Thematically, Thompson was inspired by the dichotomy of good and evil as well as the relationship between men and nature.^[1] His figures are often multi-colored and flat and reflect many of the basic elements of the Abstract Expressionist movement.^[2]

His most frequently referenced work is "Homage to Nina Simone ", a piece dedicated to the talented Nina Simone, who Thompson was a fan of. This piece was the last piece Thompson made before his death, and it currently rests inside the Myron Kunin collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.^[8]