Robert Tharsing

Robert Tharsing (1943–2015) was a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Art at the University of Kentucky.  He was born in Santa Monica, California, and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1967 with BA and MA degrees. He married Ann Tower in 1973 and they have a daughter, Lina.

Tharsing is known for the breadth of his artwork, making both abstract and representational paintings and sculpture.  He has been the recipient of many awards, including the Phelan Prize at the University of California at Berkeley, and the Al Smith Fellowship, presented by the Kentucky Arts Council.  In 1998, Tharsing was the subject of a profile produced by Kentucky Educational Television entitled Master of Art: Robert Tharsing, and in 1999-2000, he conceived, hosted and co-directed a series for KET entitled “Looking at Painting.”

Tharsing’s work has been shown regionally, nationally, and internationally and is included in many private and public collections, such as the University of Kentucky Art Museum, the Kentucky Clinic and the College of Business and Economics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY; the J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY; Bellarmine University, Louisville; the Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV; Dollar General Corporate Offices, Goodlettsville, TN; Alabama Power Company, Birmingham, AL; and the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art, Owensboro, KY.