Gwyneth Thompson-Briggs is a contemporary sacred artist in the perennial Western tradition. She is dedicated in particular to reviving techniques from the Renaissance and Baroque eras to reveal the glory of God in the midst of today’s crises. Her art decorates churches, schools, and private homes throughout the Americas and Europe.
During high school, Gwyneth studied under Tony Ortega at the Art Students League of Denver. She went on to earn a BFA at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. Gwyneth also holds advanced degrees in Physics and Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. She taught college-level math for eight years, including two at the Colorado School of Mines, while continuing to study drawing and painting independently.
In 2014 Gwyneth moved to New England to study the Boston School technique under Paul Ingbretson, and began to dedicate herself full-time to art and design. She was Visiting Fellow and Artist-in-Residence at The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in Merrimack, NH, where she and her husband developed a year-long core course in the perception, practice, and theory of sacred art. In 2017 she was asked to create a painting for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
Gwyneth and her husband, Andrew, launched Gwyneth Thompson-Briggs Sacred Art as their full-time family business in 2019. They live in St. Louis with their four children.
Education
2015-2016 | Copied works from the Baroque collections, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |
2013-2015 | Paul Ingbretson Studio of Painting and Drawing, Manchester, NH |
Summer 2011 | Way of Beauty Naturalistic Drawing Program, Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, Merrimack, NH |
2007-2009 | Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, Lakewood, CO |
2005 | Master of Science, Engineering Systems – Mechanical Specialty, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO |
2004 | Bachelor of Science, Engineering Physics, McBride Honors Program, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO |
1998-2003 | Art Students League of Denver, Drawing and Painting courses |
Selected Exhibitions & Awards
2022 | Sacred Art Competition and Exhibition, Juried by Anthony Visco & Kathleen Carr, Catholic Art Institute, Chicago Christ the King awarded Honorable Mention |
2021 | Sacred Art Competition and Exhibition, Juried by Cody Swanson, Catholic Art Institute, Chicago St. Peter Damian awarded Honorable Mention |
2020 | Sacred Art Competition and Exhibition, Juried by Denis McNamara, Catholic Art Institute, Chicago Madonna of the Crown of Roses awarded Honorable Mention |
2018 | Art in the Age of Anxiety, Juried Exhibition, Arts Guild of Sonoma, CA Spoils of War awarded Honorable Mention |
2014 | Contemporary Sacred Art Biennial, Juried Exhibition, Jubilee Museum, Columbus, OH Before the Sacrifice purchased for the museum’s permanent collection |
2014 | 5th Nationwide Juried Catholic Arts Exhibition, St. Vincent College, Latrobe, PA St. Catherine of Siena named 2nd Prize winner |
Selected Commissions
2023 | Triumphal Entry of Christ, private collection, Lisbon, Portugal |
2022 | St. Isidore the Farmer, private collection, Powell, WY |
2022 | Baptistery Murals, Cathedral of St. Joseph, Jefferson City, MO |
2022 | St. Jean-Marie Vianney, private collection, Shorewood, WI |
2022 | St. Charles Borromeo and Madonna and Child, St. Charles Borromeo Church, Fort Wayne, IN |
2021 | St. Edmund Campion, private collection, London, England |
2021 | St. Edmund Campion, private collection, Abbotsford, BC, Canada |
2021 | St. Gerard Majella, private collection, St. Louis, MO |
2021 | St. Peter Damian, Damianites, Port Orchard, WA |
2020 | St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, Benedictine monastery, Italy |
2020 | Ascension, Ascension Catholic Church, Chesterfield, MO |
2019 | St. Hugh of Lincoln, private collection, Pittsburgh, PA |
2019 | Pietà, private collection, Suffolk, England |
2019 | St. John Fisher, Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church, Jasper, GA |
2018 | Portrait of Venerable Patrick Peyton, Family Theater Productions, Hollywood, CA |
2017 | St. Augustine, commissioned as a gift for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Vatican City |
2017 | Stations of the Cross, Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church, Lake Charles, LA |
2016 | Portrait of Franc Cardinal Rodé, private collection, Brussels, Belgium |
Illustrations & Cover Art
2021 | Illustrator, Christmas Blossoms by Priscilla McCaffrey, Manchester, NH: Sophia Press, 2021 |
2014 | “St. Robert Southwell,” commissioned by Joseph Pearce for St. Austin Review, Vol. 14, No. 4, July/August 2014 |
2012 | “Blessed Beatrice of Nazareth,” Dappled Things, Vol. 7, Issue 4, Mary Queen of Angels, 2012 |
Publications as Author
2023 | “If Thy Right Eye Scandalize Thee,” National Catholic Register, January 10, 2023 |
2020 | “The Ascension: A Visual Meditation,” Saint Austin Review, Vol. 20, No.6, November/December |
2020 | “Depicting Creation Perfected by Grace,” Saint Austin Review, Vol. 20, No.1, January/February |
2012 | “The Interior Life of Statues,” Latin Mass Magazine, Vol. 21, Issue 3, Fall |