Introduction
Lorin Thompson, Lorin Hartwell Jr Thompson, (1911–1997), was a muralist, artist, and creator and illustrator of the character Ranger Rick for the National Wildlife Federation's children's magazine, Ranger Rick.
Muralist
The United States post office in Altoona, Pennsylvania contains two oil on canvas Treasury Relief Art Project commissioned murals painted by Lorin Thompson in 1938 titled Pioneers of Altoona and Growth of the Road. Another commissioned piece was the oil on canvas mural, Clearing the Land for the post office in Mercer, Pennsylvania.
A final mural was for the Pascagoula, Mississippi post office, titled Legend of the Singing River and completed in 1939. The mural was restored in the 1960s as the building became the Pasagoula Public Library. The building was damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the mural was placed in storage. In 2010, it was re-installed at the new Pascagoula post office..
Exhibits
His drawings, lithographs, etchings and paintings have been exhibited at
- Chicago Art Institute, (Chicago, IL)
- Corcoran Gallery of Art, (Washington, DC)
- National Gallery, (Washington, DC)
- Whitney Museum, (New York City),
- Carnegie Museum, (Pittsburgh, PA)
Ranger Rick
He created and illustrated Ranger Rick for the National Wildlife Federation's children's magazine Ranger Rick.