Bror Thure Thulstrup

Background

Thulstrup was born on April 5, 1848 in Stockholm, Sweden, of a prominent family. He was the son of Carl Magnus Thulstrup, a soldier, a member of the Swedish ministry, and for a time secretary of naval defense, and Hedvig Kristina (Akrell) Thulstrup.

Education

His education and his early experience were essentially those of a soldier. Graduating from the National Military Academy in Stockholm at the age of twenty, he went to Paris, where in 1870 he became an officer in the French Foreign Legion.

By inheritance and tradition inclined to army life, he began to study drawing in the French capital, giving particular attention to topographical engineering, and it was in pursuit of this work that he emigrated to Canada in the early seventies. A thorough master of line, the possibilities of color and the temptations of paint and canvas drew him into the field of creative art. In the latter he always claimed that he had no master, belonged to no school, and was self-taught.

Career

He saw service in Algeria and later in France during the war with Germany in 1871, through which, after being advanced to the rank of captain, he served to the end.

Since the United States presented a better chance for his artistic endeavors, he moved to Boston and thence to New York. A close student of military history, he naturally turned in that direction in his paintings. He was scrupulously careful about the correctness of equipment, collecting from every available source the proper uniforms for his models; his work, never haphazard, was correct to the smallest detail. He painted numerous pictures of American battlefields, one of his earliest subjects being Pickett's charge at the battle of Gettysburg.

The illustrated weeklies of New York soon found out the value of this painter-illustrator, whose work was dependable and always done on time. For a time on the staff of the Daily Graphic (New York), he subsequently became a free lance; for many years hardly an issue of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Weekly Newspaper or Harper's Weekly came out without some of his drawings, or black and white water-colors. Without hesitation he undertook to do illustrations that involved so many figures, so much composition and detail that the task would have appalled most artists.

Taking up color again after this period of strenuous and remunerative endeavor, he produced and exhibited a series of historical paintings of American colonial days that later, reproduced in color, had a large, popular sale. In 1898 appeared a book of reproductions, Drawings by Thulstrup and Others, and a year later Outdoor Pictures, drawings by Thulstrup alone. He illustrated several books, among them Arthur Conan Doyle's The Refugees (copyright 1893).

The market for illustration disappeared, photographic reproduction taking its place; but he maintained a courageous attitude, and held the stanch loyalty and affection of his friends.

For the nine years preceding his death he had lived at the Episcopal Home for Old Men and Aged Couples. He died at St. Luke's Hospital, New York.

Achievements

• Thure de Thulstrup was a leading American illustrator with contributions for numerous magazines, including three decades of work for Harper's Weekly. Thulstrup primarily illustrated historical military scenes. His illustrations were labeled as "some of the most familiar scenes of American life now extant". He was a knight of the Order of Vasa, Sweden.

Works

More photos

• book

  • History Prints Battle of Allatoona Pass by Thure de Thulstrup; Civil War

    (The Battle of Allatoona, also known as the Battle of Alla...)

  • Battle of Shiloh by Thure de Thulstrup; Civil War; Fine Giclee Print

    (Battle Of Shiloh Summary: The Battle of Shiloh (aka Battl...)

  • Battle of Gettysburg By Thure De Thulstrup - Showing Picketts Charge - NEW Classroom Social Studies Poster

    (Battle of Gettysburg By Thure De Thulstrup - Showing Pick...)

  • Wall Art Print entitled Thure De Thulstrup Art by Celestial Images | 16 x 20

    (e with pre-installed hanging hardware built into the fram...)

  • Wall Art Print Entitled Thure_De_Thulstrup_-_Siege_of_Atlanta_Unrestored by Celestial Images | 22 x 16

    (e with a 365 day workmanship guarantee. Inks used are lat...)

  • Paintings Poster - Sheridan's ride by Thure de Thulstrup 04047u original - 32...

  • book

  • 20x30 Poster; Battle Of Spottsylvania Court House By Thure De Thulstrup Ulysses S Grant George Meade Robert E Lee

Membership

Elected to the Players' Club of New York in 1889, in his loneliness he found there welcome and comfort. He was a member of the Society of Illustrators, the American Water Color Society, the John Ericsson Society of Swedish Engineers.

Personality

Gifted not only with imagination but with superb health, he could labor for as much as fifteen hours at a stretch. He was saddened by the death of his wife in 1915 and as time drew on his eyesight began to fail in a great measure.

Connections

On June 3, 1879 he married Lucie Bavoillot. There were no children.

Father:

Carl Magnus Thulstrup

He was a soldier, a member of the Swedish ministry, and for a time secretary of naval defense.

Mother:

Hedvig Kristina (Akrell) Thulstrup

Spouse:

Lucie Bavoillot

References

• Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. 18: Steward-Trowbridge (Classic Reprint)
• Civil War Times illustrated Magazine (May 1978) (Shiloh cover) (Volume XVII, No. 2)
• Life of General Nathan Bedford Forrest