Thom Ross
Encyclopedia
Thom Ross is an artist based in Seattle, Washington
, known for painting, book illustrations, and installation art
featuring life-sized cutout figures depicting famous people and historical events.
in 1952, and raised in Sausalito
. As a child he was became interested in the history of the American Old West
by watching television shows such as Bonanza
, Rawhide
, and Have Gun – Will Travel, as well as John Wayne
films. In 1974 he earned a degree in fine arts from California State University, Chico
Ross had what he describes as an "epiphany" on June 25, 1976, at the hundredth anniversary commemoration of Custer's Last Stand at the Battle of Little Bighorn, after sitting through a windstorm and observing protesters from the American Indian Movement
as well as supporters of General George Armstrong Custer
. He decided as an artist to portray iconic American people and events in new ways to bring out a more complex story than the traditional historical myths. He soon moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. His first of two daughters was born in 1984. He subsequently lived in Vermont
and in Palm Springs, California
, supporting himself as a waiter in order to paint. He moved to Ballard, Washington in 1991.
, and historical battles in the American Indian Wars
. Ross has illustrated at least 20 books, including a history of baseball. In 2001 Ross published a book, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Words and Pictures. In 2002 Ross illustrated the 100th anniversary edition of Owen Wister
's novel, The Virginian
.
Ross' first plywood installation was a 1976 cutout of Clint Eastwood
, which he and a friend placed as a prank above a railroad trestle to recreate a scene from Dirty Harry
in the location where the scene had been filmed five years earlier. In 1983 Ross created "154 Nevermore", an installation of 154 plywood ravens on a highway in Jackson, Wyoming (recreated in steel in 2000). In 1984, Ross created "the Catch", a diorama for the Baseball Hall of Fame illustrating a legendary catch with the same nickname, by Willie Mays
in the 1954 World Series. He created a new version of the work in 2004, and displayed it in various locations in New York City
. In 1998 Ross created "The Defining Moment" for SAFECO Field
, a tableau of 11 steel cutouts of a Ken Griffey, Junior play in the 1995 baseball playoffs. Ross' 2005 work, "Custer's Last Stand", was a recreation of life-sized warriors riding life-sized horses the Battle of Little Bighorn at the original site at Medicine Tail Coulee in Montana
. That exhibit toured Cody, Wyoming
, Jackson, Wyoming
, and Sun Valley, Idaho
. In September, 2008 Ross recreated a 1902 photograph of Buffalo Bill Cody and his "Wild West Show", his traveling troupe of Native Americans, in front of the Cliff House
at Ocean Beach
.
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, known for painting, book illustrations, and installation art
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
featuring life-sized cutout figures depicting famous people and historical events.
Biography
Ross was born in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
in 1952, and raised in Sausalito
Sausalito, California
Sausalito is a San Francisco Bay Area city, in Marin County, California, United States. Sausalito is south-southeast of San Rafael, at an elevation of 13 feet . The population was 7,061 as of the 2010 census. The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, and prior to...
. As a child he was became interested in the history of the American Old West
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
by watching television shows such as Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, Rawhide
Rawhide (TV series)
Rawhide is an American Western series that aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes...
, and Have Gun – Will Travel, as well as John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
films. In 1974 he earned a degree in fine arts from California State University, Chico
California State University, Chico
California State University, Chico is the second-oldest campus in the twenty-three-campus California State University system. It is located in Chico, California, about ninety miles north of Sacramento...
Ross had what he describes as an "epiphany" on June 25, 1976, at the hundredth anniversary commemoration of Custer's Last Stand at the Battle of Little Bighorn, after sitting through a windstorm and observing protesters from the American Indian Movement
American Indian Movement
The American Indian Movement is a Native American activist organization in the United States, founded in 1968 in Minneapolis, Minnesota by urban Native Americans. The national AIM agenda focuses on spirituality, leadership, and sovereignty...
as well as supporters of General George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
. He decided as an artist to portray iconic American people and events in new ways to bring out a more complex story than the traditional historical myths. He soon moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. His first of two daughters was born in 1984. He subsequently lived in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
and in Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
, supporting himself as a waiter in order to paint. He moved to Ballard, Washington in 1991.
Works
Ross works in various media including Painting, book illustration, and life-sized recreations of historical scenes. Favorite subjects include Cowboys, IndiansNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, and historical battles in the American Indian Wars
Indian Wars
American Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America before and after the American Revolutionary War. The wars resulted from the arrival of European colonizers who...
. Ross has illustrated at least 20 books, including a history of baseball. In 2001 Ross published a book, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Words and Pictures. In 2002 Ross illustrated the 100th anniversary edition of Owen Wister
Owen Wister
Owen Wister was an American writer and "father" of western fiction.-Early life:Owen Wister was born on July 14, 1860, in Germantown, a well-known neighborhood in the northwestern part of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, Owen Jones Wister, was a wealthy physician, one of a long line of...
's novel, The Virginian
The Virginian (novel)
This page is about the novel, for other uses see The Virginian .The Virginian is a pioneering 1902 novel set in the Wild West by the American author Owen Wister...
.
Ross' first plywood installation was a 1976 cutout of Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
, which he and a friend placed as a prank above a railroad trestle to recreate a scene from Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
in the location where the scene had been filmed five years earlier. In 1983 Ross created "154 Nevermore", an installation of 154 plywood ravens on a highway in Jackson, Wyoming (recreated in steel in 2000). In 1984, Ross created "the Catch", a diorama for the Baseball Hall of Fame illustrating a legendary catch with the same nickname, by Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
in the 1954 World Series. He created a new version of the work in 2004, and displayed it in various locations in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In 1998 Ross created "The Defining Moment" for SAFECO Field
Safeco Field
Safeco Field is a retractable roof baseball stadium located in Seattle, Washington. The stadium, owned and operated by the Washington-King County Stadium Authority, is the home stadium of the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball and has a seating capacity of 47,878 for baseball...
, a tableau of 11 steel cutouts of a Ken Griffey, Junior play in the 1995 baseball playoffs. Ross' 2005 work, "Custer's Last Stand", was a recreation of life-sized warriors riding life-sized horses the Battle of Little Bighorn at the original site at Medicine Tail Coulee in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. That exhibit toured Cody, Wyoming
Cody, Wyoming
Cody is a city in Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after William Frederick Cody, primarily known as Buffalo Bill, from William Cody's part in the creation of the original town. The population was 9,520 at the 2010 census...
, Jackson, Wyoming
Jackson, Wyoming
Jackson is a town located in the Jackson Hole valley of Teton County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 8,647 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Teton County....
, and Sun Valley, Idaho
Sun Valley, Idaho
Sun Valley is a resort city in Blaine County in the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum, lying within the greater Wood River valley. Tourists from around the world enjoy its skiing, hiking, ice skating, trail riding, tennis, and cycling. The population was 1,427...
. In September, 2008 Ross recreated a 1902 photograph of Buffalo Bill Cody and his "Wild West Show", his traveling troupe of Native Americans, in front of the Cliff House
Cliff House
Cliff House may refer to:* Cliff House, the official residence of Chief Minister of Indian State of Kerala*Cliff House , a restaurant*The Cliff House , a condominium complex developed by the father of 47th U.S...
at Ocean Beach
Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California
Ocean Beach is a beach that runs along the west coast of San Francisco, California, United States, at the Pacific Ocean. It is adjacent to Golden Gate Park, the Richmond District and the Sunset District. The Great Highway runs alongside the beach, and Cliff House and the site of the former Sutro...
.
External links
- thomrossart.com - official site
- A photosynth of Thom Ross' Buffalo Bill Exhibit on Ocean Beach - exhibit