W.R. Thrasher (1908 - 1997)

The state of Texas, with its vastness and various landscapes, has been the inspiration to many artists. To W. R. Thrasher it has been home to a man whose artistic abilities are widely known. 

Hot Texas afternoons, with the sun filtering through moss draped live oak trees and with soft mint green prickly pears growing by a dusty road, awaken one to expect at any moment to see a covey of quails or perhaps a roadrunner scurrying from under a mesquite bush. Whether in the soft greens of spring with its beautiful bluebonnets or summer's paintbrushes, buttercups and thistle, or ablaze with autumn majesty, this is the world of W. R. Thrasher.

Born in Lamar County, Texas, in 1908, William Robert Thrasher was a farm boy. Because of his desire to paint he spent all his earnings for brushes and canvas. He observed and painted the life he knew: wildlife, farm scenes and the unspoiled countryside of the early twentieth century. The death of his father during the Depression forced the sale of the farm and family possessions. The first items sold, and the most in demand, were Thrasher's paintings. This gave him the encouragement for a lifetime art career.

Young Thrasher found an expanding market for his early works, which were rendered on beaver board, masonite and other materials available to the budding artist. These early creations soon found homes in Lamar and surrounding counties.

Noted art critics have commented on his work as being well executed and having good composition and perspective. Although he is best known for landscapes, he is an artist of diversified talent. His works are included in private collections throughout the country, in state offices in Austin, Texas, in various universities and in congressional offices in Washington, D.C.