Roland Charles Thomas

1883 -1951
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BORN
July 31, 1883
Kansas City, Missouri
DIED
September 9, 1951
St. Joseph, Missouri
EDUCATION
National Academy of Design
New York, New York
GENDER
Male
RACE / ETHNICITY
White
OCCUPATION
Teacher

Roland Charles Thomas was a landscape painter active in the Kansas City area in the early 20th century.

He studied art in New York City with Frank Dumond, Robert Henri and William Merritt Chase, and in Munich, Germany. He lived and worked in Cincinnati, Ohio, before returning to Kansas City.

After his return, Thomas exhibited his work in local galleries and was involved with local art organizations. Around 1911 he painted murals for the offices of architect Louis Curtiss in Kansas City. In the summer of 1912, he taught an outdoor sketch class at the Fine Arts Institute of Kansas City. In 1916, Thomas was involved with the Kansas City Artists’ Guild, which was an organization for the teaching of art. Thomas served as the first president. The guild provided classes in portrait painting, landscape, modeling and poster work. He also assisted artist George Van Millet in performing cleaning and restoration work on paintings in the Western Gallery of Art collection at the Kansas City Public Library in 1918. In 1936, Thomas assisted Ilah Marian Kibbey with a mural at Southeast High School. He also painted murals for the Hudson Brace Motor Company in Kansas City.

Thomas was best known for his paintings of oak trees. He made many images of one white oak in particular, growing in a pasture near Van Horn Road and Independence Road. According to a 1932 article in the Kansas City Star, he sold $1,400 worth of studies of that tree in one year. 

Roland Charles Thomas died on September 9, 1951, in St. Joseph, Missouri.

ACTIVE IN
MISSOURI
1916-1940s / Kansas City
1940s-1951 / St. Joseph
MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATIONS
Kansas City Artists’ Guild
STUDIO

Studio was located at the Boley Building, 1118 McGee Street, Kansas City

Awards & Exhibitions 11

1909
Swan's Art Gallery Exhibition

Organized by Swan's Art Gallery

1910
Swan's Art Gallery Exhibition

Organized by Swan's Art Gallery

1912
Findlay Galleries Exhibition

Organized by Findlay Galleries

1916
Kansas City Artists’ Guild Exhibition

Organized by Kansas City Artists’ Guild

1916
Twogood Gallery Exhibition

Organized by Twogood Gallery

1918
Missouri State Fair

Organized by Missouri State Fair Commission

1921
Midwestern Artists' Exhibition

Organized by Kansas City Art Institute

1923
Midwestern Artists' Exhibition

Organized by Kansas City Art Institute

1928
Midwestern Artists' Exhibition

Organized by Kansas City Art Institute

1932
1115 Baltimore Avenue Exhibition
1935
LaSalle Hotel Exhibition

Organized by LaSalle Hotel

1918
Award, Missouri State Fair

References

Artist clippings file is available at:

Bibliography

Select Sources

“Roland Charles Thomas (1883-1951),” in Roland Sabates, The Oak Street Mansion: The History, Art and Sculpture of Kansas City’s Small Art Hotel (Kansas City: Rockhill Books, Kansas City Star Books, 2013), 104.

“Mark Twain in Murals: Projected Southeast High Will Use WPA Art Relief,” Kansas City Star, March 12, 1936, 2.

“A Tree Pays an Artist: Roland Thomas One Year Received $1,400 for Oak Studies,” Kansas City Star, December 22, 1932, 2.

“Reopen the Art Gallery: The William R. Nelson Collection Hung with Good Effect," Kansas City Star, January 29, 1918, 2.

“A New Art School Here: The Artists’ Guild Opens This Week at 1020 Oak Street," Kansas City Star, November 19, 1916, 3.

“An Outdoor School of Art: Landscape Painters Will Go to Kansas City Parks and Beauty Spots," Kansas City Star, June 10, 1912, 5.

“Show Pictures by Roland Thomas,” Kansas City Star, April 14, 1912, 11.

“Lack Mural Adornment: Kansas City Houses Want Interior Beauty, an Artist Says," Kansas City Star, April 27, 1911, 10.

“A Painter of Autumn Trees: Seasonable Interest in Pictures by Roland Thomas at Swan’s,” Kansas City Star, November 13, 1910, 5.

“An Art Exhibit by R.C. Thomas,” Kansas City Star, October 30, 1910, 3.

“Nature in the Seasons: An Interesting Collection of Paintings in Oil by Roland Thomas," Kansas City Star, November 25, 1909, 2.


Core Reference Sources

Peter H. Falk, et. al, Who was Who in American Art, 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America (Madison: Sound View Press, 1999).

Anita Jacobsen, Jacobsen's Biographical Index of American Artists (Carrollton: A.J. Publications, 2002).

Mantle Fielding, Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers (Poughkeepsie: Apollo, 1983).

Contributors

Roberta Wagener, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Artist Record Published

Published on November 8, 2022

Learn more

References

Artist clippings file is available at:

Bibliography

Select Sources

“Roland Charles Thomas (1883-1951),” in Roland Sabates, The Oak Street Mansion: The History, Art and Sculpture of Kansas City’s Small Art Hotel (Kansas City: Rockhill Books, Kansas City Star Books, 2013), 104.

“Mark Twain in Murals: Projected Southeast High Will Use WPA Art Relief,” Kansas City Star, March 12, 1936, 2.

“A Tree Pays an Artist: Roland Thomas One Year Received $1,400 for Oak Studies,” Kansas City Star, December 22, 1932, 2.

“Reopen the Art Gallery: The William R. Nelson Collection Hung with Good Effect," Kansas City Star, January 29, 1918, 2.

“A New Art School Here: The Artists’ Guild Opens This Week at 1020 Oak Street," Kansas City Star, November 19, 1916, 3.

“An Outdoor School of Art: Landscape Painters Will Go to Kansas City Parks and Beauty Spots," Kansas City Star, June 10, 1912, 5.

“Show Pictures by Roland Thomas,” Kansas City Star, April 14, 1912, 11.

“Lack Mural Adornment: Kansas City Houses Want Interior Beauty, an Artist Says," Kansas City Star, April 27, 1911, 10.

“A Painter of Autumn Trees: Seasonable Interest in Pictures by Roland Thomas at Swan’s,” Kansas City Star, November 13, 1910, 5.

“An Art Exhibit by R.C. Thomas,” Kansas City Star, October 30, 1910, 3.

“Nature in the Seasons: An Interesting Collection of Paintings in Oil by Roland Thomas," Kansas City Star, November 25, 1909, 2.


Core Reference Sources

Peter H. Falk, et. al, Who was Who in American Art, 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America (Madison: Sound View Press, 1999).

Anita Jacobsen, Jacobsen's Biographical Index of American Artists (Carrollton: A.J. Publications, 2002).

Mantle Fielding, Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers (Poughkeepsie: Apollo, 1983).

Contributors

Roberta Wagener, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Artist Record Published

Published on November 8, 2022

Updated on None

Citation

Wagener, Roberta. "Roland Charles Thomas." In Missouri Remembers: Artists in Missouri through 1951. Kansas City: The Kansas City Art Institute and The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; St. Louis: The St. Louis Public Library, 2022, https://doi.org/10.37764/5776.