TAG Snapshots

September 13, 2010

Our Speaker for September was well known artist Christian Thee. He will presented a power point presentation of his works and talk about the art of trompe l'oiel. Christian Thee is regarded as one of today's leading practitioners of trompe l'oeil painting, his unique style being a direct and purposeful extension of his work as a scenic designer for the theater.
While attending the University of South Carolina, he was appointed designer for the local Community Theater. Later, he relocated to New York City and studied with Lester Polakov at Columbia University. Mr. Polakov went on to open his own, very successful Forum Of Stage Design in NYC, and Mr. Thee joined him on the teaching faculty. During this time, Mr. Thee also worked as assistant to the legendary stage designer, Jo Mielziner, and added numerous Broadway, Regional, and Stock productions to his credentials. Mr. Thee has had numerous one-man shows throughout the country, and the main body of his extensive work can be found in private and corporate collections. In 1981, he had the honor of being commissioned to paint the portrait of Prince Andrew of England, on the occasion of the prince's twenty-first birthday. Mr. Thee subsequently attended the royal birthday party at Windsor Castle and was presented to HRH Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. With the publication of his first book, Behind The Curtain, Mr. Thee combines his love of trompe l'oeil and theater into an illustrated book of extraordinary illusion and detail taking the viewer backstage at a production of the opera Hansel and Gretel.