On the passing of Tom Flowers

Artist and arts educator passed away Sunday

Official Statement from the S.C. Arts Commission

The South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC) notes with sadness the passing of Tom Flowers, a 30-year art professor at Furman University and prominent artist with two works included in the State Art Collection.

As a practicing artist, he was widely exhibited in the South, Southeast and Midwest. In his home state, his works are among the collections of the Columbia, Florence, and Greenville County art museums and he was included in a State Museum exhibition. A Portrait of the South exhibition in Rome also featured his work internationally.

His career as an educator included two other positions in higher education prior to his 1959 move to Furman, during much of which he was its art department chair. He served in leadership roles for the Greenville County Museum of Art, Pickens County Arts Commission, and Greenville and South Carolina artist guilds and represented South Carolina on the American Craft Council.

The SCAC board of directors and staff offer our most sincere condolences to Flowers’ surviving family, students, colleagues, and the higher ed arts community throughout the state.

His obituary is available here.