Patty Prather Thum

Patty Prather Thum (October 1, 1853 – September 28, 1926) was an American artist from Louisville, Kentucky known for her landscapes, paintings of roses, and book illustrations. She studied art at Vassar College and the Art Students League of New York and maintained a portrait and landscape studio in Louisville for 35 years. She taught art, illustrated books and magazines, was an inventor, served as the president of the Louisville Art League, member of the Louisville Women's Club,

Early life and education Patty Prather Thum, daughter of prominent Louisville doctor Mandeville Thum and Louisiana (Miller) Thum, was born in Louisville, Kentucky on October 1, 1853. She was first tutored in drawing by her mother.

Career Patty Prather Thum, The Lady of the Lilies, c. 1910, oil on canvas, Speed Art Museum Thum had an art studio at the Francis Building in Louisville for over 35 years. She is most well known for her landscape painting, mostly of flowers and Kentucky scenes, but also painted still-lifes and portraits. the American Federation of Art, and the Arts Club. Thum received an honorable mention for book illustration of "Robbie and Annie: A Child's Story" at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Thum also served as art director of the 1921 Kentucky State Fair.

Personal life and death After an illness of several months, Thum died at her home in Louisville at the age of seventy-two on September 28, 1926.

Exhibitions Southern Exposition, Louisville, 1883 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 New York State Fair, Albany, 1898 Saint Louis Exposition, St. Louis, 1904 Paintings by Patty Thum, Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1909 Posthumous Kentucky Expatriates, Owensboro KY, 1984 Kentucky Women Artists: 1850-2000, Owensboro Museum of Fine Arts and Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, 2001 Patty Thum, Howard Steamboat Museum, Jeffersonville IN, 2009

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