Thomas C Lea III

Novelist

Birthday July 11, 1907

Birth Sign Cancer

Birthplace Texas

DEATH DATE Jan 29, 2001 (93)

#263154 Most Popular

About

Texas-born author and artist known for such southwestern-themed novels as The Wonderful Country and The Brave Bulls. His well-known murals include Southwest (displayed in El Paso, Texas) and Native- American Ceremony (displayed in Chicago, Illinois).

Before Fame

After graduating from El Paso High School in Texas, he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Trivia

He received honorary doctorates from Southern Methodist University and Baylor University and was awarded the 1992 Western Writers of America Assocation's Owen Wister Award.

Family Life

He married his first wife, Nancy June Taylor, in 1927. Following Taylor's 1936 death, he married second wife Sarah Catherine Beane.

Associated With

His 1954 painting, Rio Grande, was displayed in The White House's Oval Office during the administration of President George W. Bush.