Live fast, die young – a sentiment to describe Bob Thompson's short but spectacular life.

Although his artistic career was brief (a mere 8 years working as a professional artist), Thompson created such a vast body of work that some scholars consider him the “Original Jean-Michel Basquiat.” Over his short career he produced over 1,000 canvases, often working on two to three at the same time. His insatiable appetite to create catapulted him to success, although it was heartbreakingly cut short.

Robert Louise Thompson was born in Louisville, Kentucky. His father died suddenly in a car accident when he was a teenager and art became a solace for the young man as he grappled with his grief. Thompson originally planned on being a doctor, but soon fell bored and depressed with the coursework. It was his step-brother who encouraged him to pursue his art instead. While studying art at the University of Louisville, Thompson spent a summer semester in Provincetown, Rhode Island at the Seong Moy School of Painting and Graphic Arts, which deeply influenced his practice and introduced him to a number of artistic peers.

After graduating, Thompson moved to New York City where his practice flourished and he became a well-known bohemian artist. He was heavily influenced by music, especially jazz; the ways in which jazz musicians created exuberant melodies through sound, Thompson sought to achieve with paint. In addition, he was inspired by the Italian Renaissance Masters, Fra Angelico, Piero della Francesca, Titian, Tintoretto, and Nicolas Poussin, and interpreted these classics by infusing expressive abstract figuration and color. While living abroad, Thompson devoured the art of Europe from France, to Italy, to Spain. While in Spain, Thompson discovered Francisco Goya, who is believed to have heavily influenced the artist’s style. His artwork is also believed to have been influenced by the Fauvist art movement which included modernist heavyweights, Gauguin, Paul Cezanne, and Henri Matisse. 

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Thompson found renowned success during his short life. His appreciation of the classics, interpreted in his own rebellious style, led to art world success unheard of at the time for many artists, especially African American artists. A free spirit at heart, Thompson suffered from a heroin addiction that ultimately led to his untimely death. While recovering from gallbladder surgery in Rome, Thompson died from complications a few months after the procedure.