Ernest Heber Thompson (20 January 1891–13 April 1971) was a New Zealand painter, printmaker and teacher who was notable for having served as a war artist in both

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

Thompson was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

in New Zealand and attended the Dunedin School of Art, where he was taught by Alfred Henry O'Keeffe. Thompson worked as a cartoonist for the local ''

Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (''ODT'') is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and ...

'' newspaper and as a commercial artist. He enlisted in the New Zealand Army, and during World War I served as a sergeant in the 3rd New Zealand Rifle Brigade in France. While in France, Thompson completed several cartoons which were published in the army magazine ''Chronicles of NZEF'' and in a Christmas publication ''New Zealand at the Front''. On the 7 June 1917, Thompson was badly wounded at the Battle of Messines and was sent to England to recover. During his convalescence, Thompson made sketches of the medical staff treating him and these were published in a collection called ''Light Diet'' which was sold to support the work of New Zealand war artists. After the War, an Army scholarship allowed Thompson to attend the

Slade School of Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

from 1919. He also studied etching under Frank Short at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

, where he won a prize for his work. Thompson also attended the

Central School of Arts and Crafts The Central School of Art and Design was a art school, school of fine arts, fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School ...

and was an engraving finalist for the Prix de Rome prize in 1923. Thompson worked as a staff member at the Central School of Arts and Crafts from 1941 until 1966 and also taught part-time at other art schools including the

Hornsey School of Art Hornsey College of Art, also known as HCA, founded in 1880 as the Hornsey School of Arts, was an art school in Crouch End, part of Hornsey, Middlesex, England. From 1965 it was in the London Borough of Haringey. From 1955 to 1973, when it was ...

and also at Highgate, Willesden and at Harrow. Thompson was also employed by the

National Art Gallery of New Zealand National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

as its London representative and for many years recommended artworks for the Museum to acquire. In the Second World War Thompson served as an Air Raid Warden during the Blitz. In October 1941, the

War Artists' Advisory Committee The War Artists' Advisory Committee (WAAC), was a British government agency established within the Ministry of Information at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 and headed by Sir Kenneth Clark. Its aim was to compile a comprehensive artis ...

commissioned Thompson to produce three portraits of police and civil defence workers for 10 guineas each. Thompson produced a fourth portrait which he gifted to the Committee. For many years Thompson lived in Long Crendon in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, where he died in 1971.

References

External links

*
Thompson's works in the New Zealand Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Ernest Heber 1891 births 1971 deaths 20th-century New Zealand painters 20th-century New Zealand male artists Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design Alumni of the Royal College of Art Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art New Zealand Army personnel New Zealand art educators New Zealand military personnel of World War I New Zealand war artists Artists from Dunedin World War I artists World War II artists New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom