The High Museum exhibits works by figurative painter Bob Thompson in 'This House is Mine'

African American figurative painter Bob Thompson produced over a thousand paintings in his short life. He died just shy of his twenty-ninth birthday in 1966. Thompson was known for his bold and colorful artwork of silhouettes, influenced by old European masters and the jazz-influenced abstract expressionist movement. His work is currently on view at the High Museum in the exhibition “Bob Thompson: This House is Mine.”

Michael Rooks, the High’s modern and contemporary art curator, joined “City Lights” producer Summer Evans to discuss Bob Thompson’s life and art. 

Interview highlights follow below.