The Brooklyn Rail

I consider myself lucky to have known Thornton Willis since 2006. I met him as director of Elizabeth Harris Gallery while organizing my first group exhibition, Neoplastic Redux. Thornton graciously agreed to participate and our relationship was off and running. His loosely painted, sometimes messy compositions taught me that abstraction was a way of seeing, and it was about the journey, not the destination. I greatly admire his work and I’m honored to have several fine paintings hanging in my home.

Besides his wife Vered, Elizabeth Harris is the biggest Thornton Willis fan. She exhibited Thornton in her first gallery, Oscarsson Hood (1980–86), and the relationship continued at Elizabeth Harris Gallery from 2006 until the gallery closed in 2025 where he had eight solo exhibitions. After the gallery closed, Elizabeth and I continued to visit Thornton and Vered at their home and studio as often as possible.

Easy. If there is one word to describe Thornton Willis, it would be easy. Easy to talk to (he always started off any conversation inquiring about how you were doing), easy to work with (studio visits were always a joy, he sincerely took any comments you made about his work with relish and you left his studio feeling like you had just spent time with your best friend) and easy to like (he was a handsome Southern gentleman with a good sense of humor and gracious manners, both of which are in short supply these days). Hence, I am delighted to have known and worked with Thornton, and considered him a friend these past nineteen years. I miss him like hell!