From Steel to Studio: The Life and Art of Thomas Laughlin

Even after reaching heights most people would find themselves content with, the Laughlin family somehow produced generation after generation of self-made men. James Laughlin, the family patriarch and pioneer of the iron and steel industry who moved to the States from Ireland to seek his fortune abroad, was the first to do so, but by no means the last. His grandson, Irwin B. Laughlin, stepped away from a career in the steel industry, which doubtless would have been a sure source of employment and income, in favor of entering the United States Foreign Service, first as a secretary to various diplomats, legations, and envoys but then later as an ambassador, first to Greece and later to Spain under Presidents Coolidge and Hoover. His brother, Thomas McKellan Laughlin, however, did not leave the steel industry and rose to the position of Director in the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company.

Important Early David Drake Attributed Inscription Jar, sold by Brunk Auctions, November 21, 2020

Lot 548
Archive of Laughlin Family Photographs and Correspondence

But it was his son, Thomas Irwin (for his uncle) Laughlin, who took a much less corporate or governmental approach to his career. Instead of an occupation of great wealth and influence, this Laughlin chose to become an artist. During the 1930s, Laughlin found early success when he won a contract in a contest held by the Section of Painting and Sculpture as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal. He was one of 48 artists, chosen from a pool of more than 1,700 to produce a piece of art to adorn post offices throughout the nation. His mural, simply titled “Scene of Town” was moved from the post office of DeFuniak Springs, Florida where it was first installed to the second building to serve that role, where it remains on display to this day. In a catalog for an exhibition in the Country Art Gallery of Long Island, several newspaper articles about Laughlin’s art are quoted. Writing for the New York Times, Stuart Preston writes “A category for Thomas I. Laughlin’s vivacious figure and landscape paintings evades precise definition. They can be bright, wayward, funny, lumbering or touching. Like Picasso, Mr. Laughlin is a seeker rather than a finder.” The New York Journal-American opines that “It is good that Thomas Laughlin has been persuaded after many years to share his joy in painting with the public.”

Lot 553
Thomas Irwin Laughlin, Court Scene

Lot 549
Thomas Irwin Laughlin, Portrait Painting

Throughout his jet-setting travels, he became close friends with a host of artists, particularly those from Latin America, including Miguel Corvarrubias and his wife Rosa Rolanda, Roberto Montenegro of the Mexican muralist movement, and Cuban surrealist master Wilfredo Lam. Across the pond, having spent a deal of time in Paris, Laughlin was well acquainted with artists of the French scene as well. He studied with renowned cubist Fernand Léger and worked with Jean Lurçat, who was instrumental in the revitalization of tapestry as a contemporary art form. Lurçat also wrote an introduction for one of Laughlin’s exhibition catalogs, in which he praises him for “his facility and aptitude to express himself without compromise, without kowtowing to the tastes of the day.” The French seem particularly keen to sing Laughlin’s praises, with an article from the France-Amerique reading “With a light touch, capable of undertaking anything, seduced by a thousand things at once, influenced by Picasso, Cocteau, 1925 and 1945, multifaceted and volatile, this is Laughlin. A painter, yes, but twenty different genres that reveal, along with the possibilities and realities, the richness, variety, and capacity for renewal of the artist and the man.”

Lot 551
Thomas Irwin Laughlin, Panorama of Our Times

But his work was most cherished not by his continental admirers, but by his family. The paintings Brunk Auctions is proud to offer come from the estate of Thomas’ son Michael, who was a South Carolina state senator. A renaissance man in his own right, Michael Laughlin was a talented businessman, founding and chairing Eagle Aviation and enjoying hobby aviation, indulging in equestrian and other outdoor pursuits, and volunteering his time to leadership roles throughout the town of Aiken, South Carolina, where he lived. His intense generosity, as a man who gave freely of his time, effort, and money to the community he cherished on top of possessing an acute business acumen, Michael was a beloved and well-respected community figure, whose advice and support in a wide variety of endeavors was frequently sought after and always dearly kept and appreciated once given. His interests come through in his collection, from books on sporting pursuits and shotguns for birdhunting, to works of classic literature, to some choice examples of his father’s own artistic works. Michael leaves behind a deeply personal selection, small in volume but rich in sentimentality and choicely curated. We invite you to discover this for yourselves and enjoy the results of his lifelong collecting endeavors.

From Steel to Studio: The Life and Art of Thomas Laughlin

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