Bob Thompson (June 26, 1937-May 30, 1966); African-American figurative painter known for his bold and colorful canvases, whose compositions were appropriated from the Old Masters. His art has also been described as synthesizing Baroque and Renaissance masterpieces with the jazz-influenced Abstract Expressionist movement. He was prolific in his 8-year career, producing more than 1,000 works before his death.... The Whitney Museum in NYC mounted a retrospective of his work in 1998.... He died from a heroin overdose following gall bladder surgery in Rome, Italy in 1966. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Thompson_(painter) ) Robert Louis Thompson was an African-American painter and one of the youngest black artists of his day to gain fame in the US. Born in Louisville, KY, Thompson was the youngest of 3 children born to a businessman and schoolteacher. His father died in an auto accident when he was 13, and he was sent to live with relatives who influenced him through exposure to art and jazz. After high school graduation in 1955, Thompson went back to Louisville, finding work as a department store window decorator. He soon won a scholarship to the University of Louisville’s Hite Art Institute. It was there that his artistic style shifted from large-scale, gestural abstract to a more figurative expressionism.... In 1963, he joined the Martha Jackson Gallery; all of his shows there broke attendance records. By making his first major sale at 21, Thompson was in a class nearly by himself in recognition in the world of art. Not until the emergence of Basquait in the 1980s would another African-American be so embraced. Though as a painter the world was at his feet, his personal life was a mess. Consumed by alcohol and drug problems, he and his wife fled to Italy, hoping the change in scenery would help. Instead, on Memorial Day 1966, Robert Thompson was found dead of an apparent overdose. (http://apfineart.com/artist/bob-thompson/#prettyphoto[self-portrait]/0) undefined

More on Google