In 2018 , David Lewis Gallery presented " Mr. Dial 's America , " a survey of Thornton Dial 's work from 1989 - 2011 . The show garnered significant press , including a review from the editors of ARTnews , who praised the artist 's diverse oeuvre of " early self-portraits as well as paintings treating Jim Crow – era America and the struggle for civil rights , the O.J. Simpson trial , and the site of the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attacks . " Writing of the show in the New York Times , Roberta Smith commends " Dial 's ability to commandeer any material into a painting , " and called the works " fiercely formal in ways that connect to Jackson Pollock 's allover fields of dripped paint and the object paintings of Anselm Kiefer and Julian Schnabel . " Thornton married Clara Mae Murrow in 1951 . At his death he was survived by three sons , Thornton Jr. , Richard and Dan , a daughter , Matte Dial , as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren . Clara Mae Thornton died in 2005
9/11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Thornton Dial