Bruce Thompson   (1879-1941)

Bruce Thompson was born in Rosebud, in southern Illinois in 1879.  He studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Frank Holme’s School of Illustration and Smith Academy, and did special color work with H.G. Maratta.  Formerly a newspaperman, Thompson attracted attention with his pictures, writings and lectures on the Seminole Indians of Florida.

The artist painted portraits of a number of prominent persons including the former Governor’s of Florida and Kentucky. He also did a portrait of Reverend Jesse Head, a noted pioneer minister who married the parents of Abraham Lincoln.

The artist was an early member of the Palette and Chisel Club, All-Illinois Society of the Fine Arts, Austin, Oak Park and River Forest Art League, and the Miami Art League.  He died in Oak Park in 1941.

Sources:  
Catalog: Century of Progress exhibition by artists of Illinois. 1933.  Additional information from the Illinois Historical Art Project

Submitted by Edward P. Bentley, researcher from Lansing, Michigan