Trew Hocker

Trew Hocker was an artist from Sedalia, Missouri, who was known for painting murals and, later in his career, set design for television and theater.

Hocker was raised in Sedalia and graduated from Smith-Cotton High School in 1931. He studied painting at the University of Missouri in Columbia, then attended the Kansas City Art Institute, where he studied with Thomas Hart Benton. He also studied at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts. In 1948 Hocker traveled to Paris and attended the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, studying under Othon Friesz, Fernand Léger and Andre Lhote.

During his early career, Hocker lived in Sedalia and was a member of the Brush and Palette Club. From 1936 to 1937 he was employed by the Works Progress Administration as an art project service instructor teaching classes in painting, sketching and art theory.

In 1939, he painted murals for both the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco and for the New York World’s Fair. For the Golden Gate Exposition, Hocker executed a historical mural in collaboration with Kansas City artist Glenn Woods. The mural included prominent persons from Missouri history and was designed by Frank Nuderscher of St. Louis. For the New York World’s Fair, Hocker designed and painted a mural of a farm in Louisiana, Missouri.

Hocker received a commission to paint a mural for the University City Post Office in St. Louis in 1939. He won the commission through a national competition sponsored by the Treasury Section for the Fine Arts. The mural, titled The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, was completed in 1940.

During World War II, Hocker served in the Air Corps as a sergeant, then captain. He was stationed at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis from 1942-1943 and worked on developing graphic training aids for the Army Air Force. 

After the war, in the summer of 1948, Hocker taught classes at the Art School of the Ozarks with H. Louis and Elsie Freund. Later that year, he went to Paris again to study art.

In the 1950s, Hocker relocated to New York City, where he worked as a set designer for NBC and designed sets for televised operas and television programs. He also made decorative murals for stores, restaurants and colleges, and exhibited at several galleries, including the Banfer Gallery.