Chester Thrasher, oil on canvas 15 by 27.5 inches. Signed upper right.
Chester Thrasher spent his working years raising chickens and turkeys on his farm in Oakwood, Ohio. After retirement, Thrasher bought a small farm on Pirates Point, in Ruskin near Tampa, and began studying painting with well-known Tampa Bay artists Harry Bierce, Chris Clark and Lawrence Porth. A charter member of Tampa Realistic Artists, Thrasher spent his winter months in Ruskin painting Florida landscapes and teaching art in Brandon, Riverview, and Sun City. One of his students recalled, “Thrasher knew all the spots of interest in this area…taking his class out on paintnics, that is, bring your own lunch and paint until the light fails.” On his death in 1967, the Tampa chapter, American Artists Professional League, sponsored a one man show at Tampa City Hall with some paintings in the office of Mayor Greco.
Chester Thrasher, oil on canvas 19 by 23 inches, signed lower right.
Died: July 20, 1967, Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Education: Lawrence Porth; Chris Clark; Eugene White; Fern Cunningham; Nike Parton; Harry Bierce; Marion Bendell; Emile Gruppe. Membership: Tampa Realistic Artists, charter member; Art League of Manatee County; Brandon Art Society; Long Boat Key Art Society. Exhibits: Art League of Manatee County, All Members Exhibit, October 1955, 209 Ninth St. W. Bradenton, oil, Lights and Shadows; Tampa Realistic Art Gallery, January 1957, Covered Bridge; Oakwood, Ohio, annual homecoming celebration, Labor Day September 1, 1958, outdoor art exhibit; Tampa Realistic Artists Show, March 1957, Davis Island scenes; Paul Dorfmuller Studio, Tampa, March 1960, one man show, including, Gulfstream; Paul Dorfmuller Studio, Second Annual Exhibition of new paintings, March 1961;Tampa Realistic Artists, March 1963, shared first prize with Clarence Tibado; Tampa Realistic Artists Exhibit, grand prize, painting chosen for exhibition in the Florida Governor’s Mansion; Paul Dorfmuller Gallery on Azeele Street, Tampa, March-April, 1963; Tampa Art Salon, one man show, portraits, landscapes, flowers, March 1964; Ruskin Chamber of Commerce, sidewalk art show, May 1964; North West Ohio, Labor Day Show; Defiance College, Ohio, one man show; Payne, Ohio, one man show.
