# Thomas Locker > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Thomas_Locker > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Thomas_Locker.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Locker > Source revision: 1264708376 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|American painter}} thumb|Thomas Locker teaching at Shimer College '''Thomas Locker''' (June 26, 1937 — March 9, 2012){{Cite web|title=Thomas Locker Obituary - East Jewett, New York - Tributes.com|url=http://www.tributes.com/obituary/show/Thomas-Locker-93468420|access-date=2021-03-01|website=www.tributes.com}} was an American landscape painter and award winning illustrator, and author of [children's literature](/source/children's_literature){{cite web|url=http://www.barbsbooks.com/The%20Life%20and%20Works%20of%20Thomas%20Locker.htm |title=The Life and Work of Thomas Locker |publisher=Barbsbooks.com |date= |accessdate=2012-10-03}} His oil paintings follow in the tradition of the 19th-century [Hudson River School](/source/Hudson_River_School) of painting.{{cite web|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/obituaries/article/51085-obituary-thomas-locker.html |title=Obituary: Thomas Locker |publisher=Publishersweekly.com |date= |accessdate=2012-10-03}} Born in New York City, Thomas Locker was raised in Washington D.C. where his father worked as a lobbyist. At age six he started training in traditional old-world techniques with painter [https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/umberto-romano-papers-9210 Umberto Roberto Romano] .{{Cite web|url=https://valleyadvocate.com/2008/08/28/hudson-river-in-the-pioneer-valley/|title=Hudson River in the Pioneer Valley|first=Kendra|last=Thurlow|work=Valley Advocate|date=August 28, 2008}} At age seven, Locker won first prize in the children's division of the [Washington Times-Herald](/source/Washington_Times-Herald) annual{{Cite web|title=John N. Robinson - Wikipedia|url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_N._Robinson#cite_note-10|access-date=2021-02-28|website=en.m.wikipedia.org|language=en}}{{Circular reference|date=May 2021}} art fair. Locker earned an A.B. in Art History at the [University of Chicago](/source/University_of_Chicago) and an M.A. from the [American University](/source/American_University), Washington DC. While at the University of Chicago he studied under professor Joshua C. Taylor [https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1881], future director of the [Smithsonian American Art Museum](/source/Smithsonian_American_Art_Museum). After graduating, he studied art while travelling in Europe.Thomas Locker, ''Sky Tree: Seeing Science Through Art'' (New York: HarperCollins Publishing, 1995 (unpag.). In 1964 Locker began his more than 75 solo exhibitions career,{{Cite web|title=Thomas Locker {{!}} R. MICHELSON GALLERIES|url=https://www.rmichelson.com/artists/thomas-locker/|access-date=2021-03-01|website=www.rmichelson.com}} starting with the Banter Gallery, New York City. He painted [17th century Dutch](/source/Dutch_Golden_Age)-inspired oil landscapes, selling through [Sears](/source/Sears%2C_Roebuck_and_Company_Complex)' [https://www.artistsnetwork.com/artist-life/vincent-price-sells-gallery-paintings-sears/ ''The Vincent Price Collection''], Chicago. During these years he also taught at [Franklin College](/source/Franklin_College_(Indiana)) and [Shimer College](/source/Shimer_Great_Books_School), while he and his wife raised their five children.{{Cite web|title=Thomas Locker Obituary - (2012) - EAST JEWETT, NY - Albany Times Union|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/timesunion-albany/name/thomas-locker-obituary?pid=156488641|access-date=2021-02-28|website=www.legacy.com}} In 1982, Locker began bringing the world of fine painting to children and young adults, producing thirty-six popular illustrated books. He authored most of these books and illustrated with his Hudson River School style oil paintings. Several books were collaborative works with his second wife, chemistry teacher and weaving expert [https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/authorpage/candace-christiansen.html Candace Christiansen].{{Cite web|title=Anti-Rent Wars remembered in art, literature, and drama|url=https://altamontenterprise.com/05242018/anti-rent-wars-remembered-art-literature-and-drama|access-date=2021-02-10|website=The Altamont Enterprise|language=en}} Locker also illustrated books for other popular writers such as [Jean Craighead George](/source/Jean_Craighead_George). Many of these books became staples of school libraries. Locker's works received numerous awards including the 1989 [Christopher Award](/source/Christopher_Award), the [John Burroughs Medal](/source/John_Burroughs_Medal), the 1984 [New York Times Book Review](/source/The_New_York_Times_Book_Review) Best Illustrated Children's Book{{Cite web|title=New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book {{!}} Book awards {{!}} LibraryThing|url=https://www.librarything.com/bookaward/New+York+Times+Best+Illustrated+Children%27s+Book|access-date=2021-03-01|website=www.librarything.com}} and the [ALA Notable](/source/ALA_Notable_lists) Books for Children list.{{Cite book|last=Christiansen|first=Candace|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cBWSAAAACAAJ|title=The Ice Horse|date=September 1993|publisher=Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated|isbn=978-0-8037-1400-7|language=en}} Locker experienced a near-death aneurysm in 2002. After this he moved from the [Hudson River Valley](/source/Hudson_River_Valley) to the less populated [Catskills](/source/Catskill_Mountains) and returned to full-time oil painting of the American landscape. He remained in [Albany](/source/Albany%2C_New_York), N.Y. until his death in 2012, at the age of 74.For further critics' characterisations and assessments of Locker's painting, see the Carrie Haddad Gallery publication http://www.carriehaddadgallery.com/index.cfm?method=Artist.ArtistDetail&ArtistID=56C9027C-115B-5562-AA1F1E9F305670FD == Books == '''Narrative stories and/or history''' *''Where the River Begins'' (1984) *''The Mare on the Hill'' (1985) *''Sailing with the Wind'' (1986) *''Family Farm'' (1988) *''Anna and the Bagpiper'' *''The Ice Horse'' (1993) by Candace Christiansen; A boy ice harvests on the [Hudson River](/source/Hudson_River) *''Grandfather's Christmas Tree'' *''The Boy Who Held Back the Sea.'' A retelling of the traditional Dutch folktale (1993) [Hans Brinker](/source/Hans_Brinker%2C_or_The_Silver_Skates) *''[Washington Irving](/source/Washington_Irving)'s [Rip Van Winkle](/source/Rip_Van_Winkle)'' *''[The Ugly Duckling](/source/The_Ugly_Duckling) as told by [Marianna Mayer](/source/Marianna_Mayer)'' *''Calico and Tin Horns'' (1992) by Candace Christiansen; dramatization of the [Anti-rent Wars](/source/Anti-Rent_War) *''The First [Thanksgiving](/source/Thanksgiving_(United_States))'' (2001), with [Jean Craighead George](/source/Jean_Craighead_George) '''''Narrative stories - art themes''''' *''The Young Artist'' (1989) *''Miranda's Smile'' (1994) *''[Rembrandt](/source/Rembrandt) and Titus: Artist and Son;'' by Madeleine Comora *''Rembrandt and Titus Classroom Posters'' '''Nature and Science''' *''To Climb a Waterfall'' (1995) *Sky Tree: Seeing Science Through Art (1995) *''Water Dance'' (1997) *''Cloud Dance'' (2000) *''Mountain Dance'' (2001) *''Hudson: The Story of a River'' (2004), with Robert C Baron *''In Blue Mountains: An Artist's Return to America's First Wilderness'' (2000) '''Literature and philosophy''' *''Snow Toward Evening: A Year in a River Valley / Nature Poems'' selected by Josette Frank (1990) *''Catskill Eagle by [Herman Melville](/source/Herman_Melville)'' (1991) *''Home: A Journey through America'' (2000) literary selections of American writers, including [Willa Cather](/source/Willa_Cather) and [Henry David Thoreau](/source/Henry_David_Thoreau) *''Journey to the Mountaintop: On Living and Meaning'' (2007) A writer and a painter’s reflections, journeying in the [Catskill Mountains](/source/Catskill_Mountains) and [Kaaterskill Falls](/source/Kaaterskill_Falls)''.'' '''Conservation''' *''Images of Conservationists (Series)'': ''Walking With Henry: Based on the Life and Works of [Henry David Thoreau](/source/Henry_David_Thoreau)'' (2002) *''Images of Conservationists (Series)'': ''[Rachel Carson](/source/Rachel_Carson): Preserving a Sense of Wonder'' *''Images of Conservationists (Series)'': ''[John Muir](/source/John_Muir): America's Naturalist'' *''Images of Conservationists (Series)'': ''Teacher's Guide to John Muir'' '''Native American''' *''Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back: A Native American Year of Moons'' (1992) *''The Land of Gray Wolf'' *''The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet'' *''Between Earth & Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places'' '''Interview''' *''The Man Who Paints Nature by Thomas Locker'' (''Meet the Author'' series; Richard C. Owen Publishers){{Cite web|title=Meet the Author - Thomas Locker|url=https://www.rcowen.com/MTA-ThomasLocker.htm|access-date=2021-02-10|website=www.rcowen.com}} ===Exhibition catalogs=== *Exhibition catalog: "''Thomas Locker: The New American Realism"'' (R.S. Johnson-International Gallery, Spring, 1972){{Cite web|title=Thomas Locker : American landscapes : [exhibition] September 16-October 4, 1980, Hammer Galleries, New York par Thomas Locker|url=http://www.librarything.com/work/9345592|access-date=2021-02-10|website=LibraryThing.com|language=fr}}{{Cite book|last1=Locker|first1=Thomas|url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/thomas-locker-the-new-american-realism/oclc/623319#borrow|title=Thomas Locker; the new American realism.|last2=R.S. Johnson International|date=1972|location=Chicago|language=English|oclc=623319}} *Exhibition catalog: ''"Thomas Locker: American landscapes: [exhibition] September 16-October 4, 1980, Hammer Galleries, New York" ''{{Cite web|title=Détails de l'œuvre: Thomas Locker : American landscapes : [exhibition] September 16-October 4, 1980, Hammer Galleries, New York par Thomas Locker|url=http://www.librarything.com/work/9345592|access-date=2021-02-10|website=LibraryThing.com|language=fr}} == Notes == {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Locker, Thomas}} Category:American male writers Category:20th-century American painters Category:American male painters Category:21st-century American painters Category:1937 births Category:2012 deaths Category:Shimer College faculty Category:Franklin College (Indiana) faculty Category:20th-century American male artists --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Thomas Locker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Locker) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Locker?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.