FRANCES EUPHEMIA THOMPSON, ca. 1903-1991

Frances Euphemia Thompson wrote that she was born in Nashville, Tenn., on July 11, "at the turn of the century"; the exact year is not known. After the death of her father, Archer, in 1907, her mother, Harriet, raised FET and her eight siblings with the help of "Aunt Judy," an elderly friend of the family and a former slave. FET attended public elementary schools through the 9th grade, when the family moved across town; she completed her high school education at Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State Normal School (now Tennessee State University). She was supported through her early years by a strongly religious home and the guidance and encouragement of Olive Giovanne Taliaferro, a teacher of art education at Tennessee A&I who became her mentor.

OGT, an alumna of the Massachusetts School of Art (now the Massachusetts College of Art), sponsored FET's college education there. After graduating in 1923 FET returned to Nashville, where she began a career in art and art education at Tennessee A&I that was to span five decades. She served as department director, became professor of art in 1944, and professor emerita in 1974.

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