Robert Farris Thompson (December 30, 1932 – November 29, 2021) was an American art historian and writer who specialized in Africa and the Afro-Atlantic world. He was a member of the faculty at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

from 1965 to his retirement more than fifty years later and served as the Colonel John Trumbull Professor of the

History of Art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetics ...

. Thompson coined the term "black Atlantic" in his 1983 book ''Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro-American Art and Philosophy'' – the expanded subject of Paul Gilroy's book ''

The Black Atlantic ''The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness'' is a 1993 history book about a distinct black Atlantic culture that incorporated elements from African, American, British, and Caribbean cultures. It was written by Paul Gilroy and wa ...

''. He lived in the Yoruba region of southwest

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

while he conducted his research of Yoruba arts history. He was affiliated with the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

and frequented Yoruba village communities. Thompson studied the African arts of the diaspora in the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Surinam and several Caribbean islands.

Career at Yale

In 1955, Thompson received his B.A. from Yale University. After receiving his bachelor's degree and serving in the 7th Army in Stuttgart, he continued his studies at Yale, where he received his Master's degree in 1961 and his Ph.D. in 1965. He was the first Yale professor and second person in the United States (the first being Roy Sieber at the University of Iowa in 1956) to receive a professorship in African Art history. Having served as Master of

Timothy Dwight College Timothy Dwight College, commonly abbreviated and referred to as "TD", is a residential colleges of Yale University, residential college at Yale University named after two presidents of Yale, Timothy Dwight IV and his grandson, Timothy Dwight V. ...

from 1978 until 2010, he was the longest serving master of a residential college at Yale. Thompson was one of America's most prominent scholars of

African art African art encompasses modern and historical paintings, sculptures, installations, and other visual cultures originating from indigenous African diaspora, African communities across the African continent. The definition may also include the ar ...

, and presided over exhibitions of African art at the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

Washington D.C Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. He was one of the longest-serving alumni of Yale.

Publications and areas of study

Beginning with an article on Afro-Cuban dance and music (published in 1958), Thompson dedicated his life to the study of art history of the Afro-Atlantic world. His first book was ''Black Gods and Kings'', which was a close reading of the art history of the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria (population of approximately 40 million). Other published works include ''African Art in Motion, Flash of the Spirit'' (1983), ''Face of the Gods'', and ''Tango: The Art History of Love.'' Thompson also published an introduction to the diaries of

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the Graffiti in New York City, New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual l ...

. Some of his works have even been translated into German, Portuguese, French and Flemish. Additionally, Thompson also studied the art of Guillermo Kuitca and José Bedia, and was anthologized 15 times.

Awards

The

College Art Association The College Art Association of America (CAA) is the principal organization in the United States for professionals in the visual arts, from students to art historians to emeritus faculty. Founded in 1911, it "promotes these arts and their understan ...

presented its inaugural Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award for Art Writing to Thompson in 2003, and was named CAA's Distinguished Scholar in 2015. In 2007, Thompson was given the "Outstanding Contribution to Dance Research" award, by the Congress on Research in Dancebr>

Personal life and death

Thompson was born in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

. He spoke French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish fluently and could speak Yoruba, Ki-Kongo and German, Flemish, and Kreyol at an intermediate level. He has been to nearly all 47 countries of Africa and is survived by a sister, two children, four grandchildren and a great granddaughter. Thompson died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

-complicated

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

on November 29, 2021, at a nursing home in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

. He was 88.

Bibliography

*1971 ''Black Gods and Kings: Yoruba Art at UCLA'' *1974 ''African Art in Motion: Icon and Act in the Collection of Katharine Coryton White'' *1981 ''The Four Moments of the Sun: Kongo Art in Two Worlds'' *1983 ''Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro-American Art and Philosophy'' *1993 ''Face of the Gods: Art and Altars of Africa and the African Americas'' *1999 ''The Art of William Edmondon'' *2005 ''Tango: The Art History of Love'' *2011 ''Aesthetic of the Cool: Afro-Atlantic Art and Music''

References

External links

Portrait page
at Timothy Dwight College