Thomas Locker

Thomas Locker (June 26, 1937 — March 9, 2012)[1] was an American landscape painter and award winning illustrator, and author of Children's literature[2] His oil paintings follow in the tradition of the 19th-century Hudson River School of painting.[3]

Thomas Locker teaching at Shimer College

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 Umberto Roberto Romano .[4] At age seven, Locker won first prize in the children's division of the Washington Times-Herald annual[5] art fair. Locker earned an A.B. in Art History at the University of Chicago and an M.A. from the American University, Washington DC.[4] While at the University of Chicago he studied under professor Joshua C. Taylor , future director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. After graduating, he studied art while travelling in Europe.[6]

In 1964 Locker began his more than 75 solo exhibitions career,[7] starting with the Banter Gallery, New York City.[4] He painted 17th century Dutch-inspired oil landscapes, selling through Sears' The Vincent Price Collection, Chicago. During these years he also taught at Franklin College and Shimer College, while he and his wife raised their five children.[8]

In 1982, Locker began bringing the world of fine painting to children and young adults, producing thirty-six[4] 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 Candace Christiansen.[9] Locker also illustrated books for other popular writers such as Jean Craighead George. Many of these books became staples of school libraries. Locker's works received numerous awards including the 1989 Christopher Award, the John Burroughs Medal, the 1984 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children's Book[10] and the ALA Notable Books for Children list.[11]

Locker experienced a near-death aneurysm in 2002. After this he moved from the Hudson River Valley to the less populated Catskills and returned to full-time oil painting of the American landscape. He remained in Albany, N.Y. until his death at age 74.[4][12]