Passion and Talent:

Thompson Family Donated Extensive Art Collection to Brenau

By Edie Rogers
Excerpt courtesy of Brenau Window. Read the full article here.

The estate of Claire Thompson, who died in September 2021, has donated an extensive collection of work by her late husband, William J. Thompson, to Brenau University Galleries. 

The Thompson collection, valued at more that $270,000, consists of 68 works by the renowned sculptor and printmaker that span the artist’s career from the 1950s to his death in 1995.

“This collection truly demonstrates how prolific William J. Thompson was as an artist; it transcends media and subject to represent his passion and talent,” Brenau Galleries Director Nichole Ferguson says. “We are grateful to the late Claire Thompson and her children for trusting Brenau with such an important part of their family history.”

Thompson studied art at the Rhode Island School of Design and earned a Master of Fine Arts from the Cranbrook Academy of Arts in Michigan. His influences included Auguste Rodin, Georges Rouault, Ernst Barlach and Jacob Epstein. In 1964, Thompson joined the art staff at the University of Georgia at the invitation of then-professor and director Lamar Dodd. The school’s sculpture studio later was named in Thompson’s honor.

The sculptures included in the collection represent a variety of media including stone, wood, bronze and polyester resin. Most of his works carry religious and spiritual themes, influenced by his Catholic faith. (cont.)