After Hurricane Hazel

The Thomason family often visited Myrtle Beach for vacations, so when Hurricane Hazel struck the South Carolina coast in 1954, the artist was especially moved. This large painting is an evocative portrayal of the chaos and destruction left in the path of the storm, which claimed almost one hundred lives. Scattered across the composition are remnants of boats, cars, and the old wooden boardwalk—all rendered with slashing strokes of sinister color. The sea is still turbulent at the top of the image, obfuscating the sky. Three dark figures dot the foreground, one gamely striding into the wind, while the other two gaze in bewilderment.

The painting is one of Thomason’s most abstract—a reflection, perhaps, of his emotional reaction to the hurricane’s devastation. It has much in common with contemporary abstract expressionist paintings, which Thomason himself probably never saw.