Arthur Thrall

Tag: Arthur Thrall

Wriston Art Center exhibition honors former Lawrence art professor

A photo of former Lawrence University art professor Arthur Thrall.
Arthur Thrall taught art at Lawrence from 1964 until his retirement in 1990.

 A celebration of former Lawrence University art professor Arthur Thrall’s skills and imagination as an award-winning printmaker and painter highlights the newest exhibition in Lawrence’s Wriston Art Center galleries.

Arthur Thrall: Tribute to a Master Artist” in the Kohler Gallery opens Friday, Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. with a free public reception. The exhibition runs through Nov. 23.

During a 26-year teaching career at Lawrence — Thrall retired in 1990 but remained an active artist in retirement — he established an international reputation for works inspired by sources as diverse as calligraphy and computers, music and microchips.

Covering three broad themes — calligraphy, musical notation and lyrical lines — the exhibition features a wide array of media and print-making processes, from intaglio and relief prints to gouache and oil paintings.

A video by professional photographer Mark Heffron, “Orchestrated Lines,” that documents Thrall creating the print “Confluence” will be shown during the exhibition, while the plate for that print and some of Thrall’s printmaking tools also will be displayed.

Beth Zinsli, director and curator of the Wriston Art Center galleries, called Thrall “a legend in the Wisconsin arts community.”

A photo of former Lawrence University art professor Arthur Thrall artwork in the "Tribute to a Master Artist" exhibition.
“Etude,” acrylic on canvas, will be one of Arthur Thrall’s works in the “Tribute to a Master Artist” exhibition.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to showcase this stunning array of Arthur’s complex and multilayer works in a variety of media,” said Zinsli. “I’m confident viewers will find his work aesthetically pleasing and intellectually engaging.”

His prints and paintings appeared in more than 500 exhibitions around the world and many found homes in the permanent collections of the British Museum, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate Gallery, the Smithsonian Institute, the Library of Congress and the Chicago Art Institute, among others.

A native of Milwaukee, Thrall was one of 21 members of the Milwaukee-Downer College faculty who came to Lawrence in 1964 as part of the consolidation with the former all-women’s college. He died at the age of 88 in March, 2015.

During his career, Thrall was recognized by the art community with more than 75 awards, including the Lifetime Award from the Society of American Graphic Artists in New York in 2013. He also received the Museum of Wisconsin Art’s Wisconsin Visual Art Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

A photo of Shannon Sullivan's "Interractive Bubble Array" work in the exhibition "FACET."
Shannon Sullivan’s”Interactive Bubble Array” will be among the featured works in the exhibition “FACET.”

In addition to “Tribute to a Master Artist,” the Leech and Hoffmaster galleries host  “FACET: Diverse Works by Women in the West.” The show features five female artists from the American West — Renee Brown, Natalie Macellaio, Jessica McCambly, Lesli Robertson and Shannon Sullivan — who work with “heavy” sculpture materials, including metals, clay, concrete, wood and glass. Their work, reflecting deep consideration of the virtues and limitations of their chosen medium, references the natural world, including geologic, chemical and biological processes.

“FACET” includes Sullivan’s interactive piece “Interactive Bubble Array,” which visitors can manipulate (while wearing gloves).

The Wriston Art Center galleries are free and open to the public Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday noon – 4 p.m.; closed Mondays. For more information on the exhibition, 920-832-6890.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.”  Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

 

Former Lawrence University Art Professor Recognized with Lifetime Achievement Award

For the second time in two years, Arthur Thrall, Professor Emeritus of Art and former Charles S. Farrar-Laura Norcross Marrs Professor of Fine Arts, will be honored with a lifetime achievement award.

The Society of American Graphic Artists (SAGA) Council of New York City recently announced it will recognize Thrall with a Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of his distinguished career as a printmaker. Thrall was invited to be a SAGA member in the 1950s.

A grouping of Thrall’s work will be exhibited at SAGA’s 80th anniversary at the Delind Gallery in Milwaukee during the Southern Graphics Council International Conference beginning March 22, 2013.

In May, 2011, Thrall was recognized by the Museum of Wisconsin Art with the Wisconsin Visual Art Lifetime Achievement Award.

Thrall joined the Lawrence art department in 1964 following the consolidation with Milwaukee Downer College, where he had been a faculty member since 1956.  He retired from Lawrence in 1990, but remained an active artist in retirement in Milwaukee.

A painter and printmaker with an international reputation, Thrall has been the recipient of more than 75 awards, including “Artist of the Year” honors in 1984 by the Wisconsin Foundation for the Arts and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Fellowship in Printmaking.

His works have appeared in more than 500 exhibitions as well as the White House and are included in the permanent collections of the British Museum, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate Gallery in England, the Smithsonian Institute, the Library of Congress and the Chicago Art Institute, among others.

SAGA is a nonprofit national organization of fine art printmakers that was founded in 1915. During its history, its membership has included most of America’s foremost printmakers.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2013 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,450 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries. Follow Lawrence on Facebook.

 

 

Professor Emeritus Arthur Thrall Recognized with Lifetime Achievement Award

Professor Emeritus of Art and former Charles S. Farrar-Laura Norcross Marrs Professor of Fine Arts Arthur Thrall will be among six state artists recognized Sunday, May 22 by the Museum of Wisconsin Art with the Wisconsin Visual Art Lifetime Achievement Award. The Milwaukee Institute Of Art & Design also will be honored.

Thrall joined the Lawrence art department in 1964 following the consolidation with Milwaukee Downer College, where he had been a member of the faculty since 1956.  He retired from Lawrence  in 1990, but has remained an active artist in retirement in Milwaukee.

A painter and printmaker with an international reputation, Thrall has been the recipient of more than 75 awards, including “Artist of the Year” honors in 1984 by the Wisconsin Foundation for the Arts and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Fellowship in Printmaking.

His works have appeared in more than 500 exhibitions as well as the White House and are included in the permanent collections of the British Museum, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate Gallery in England, the Smithsonian Institute, the Library of Congress and the Chicago Art Institute, among others.

Founded in 2004, the WVALAA is essentially the state “Hall of Fame” for those who have supported the visual arts with distinction. The honor is presented to both individuals and organizations in recognition of extraordinary contributions to the creation, support and growth of visual arts in and of Wisconsin.

The awards ceremony, which is free and open to the public, begins at 1:30 p.m. and will be held at the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend.