Thomas Lorraine Hunt

Hunt was active among the Southern California group of Impressionist plein air painters and a founding member of the Laguna Art Museum.

In Cleveland, Hunt earned a living in apartment construction as a general contractor and real estate developer, however, in the city directories he listed his occupation as artist.

[2] Hunt continued to earn a living with real estate development projects in Hollywood and San Bernardino, but became an active figure in the artist community.

[3] In 1926, Hunt received a commission from the Elks Club of Los Angeles for a painting that would depict the end of the war with Mexico in 1848.

[2] According to art historian Jean Stern, Hunt developed a unique style that was "uncommonly modernistic for the period."

Stern considered his paintings as a transition from impressionism to modernism through a "distinct and unique form of post-impressionism... characterized by bold dramatic canvasses that celebrate color.

The first major collection and exhibition of paintings by Thomas Hunt was held in the fall of 2019 at the Laguna Art Museum.