Robert Vantrease was born on August 6, 1927, in Nashville, Tennessee and passed away on July 7, 2016. Preceeded in death by parents, Fred A. Vantrease and Nellie Dalton Vantrease; and brothers, Billy Vantrease and Joe Dalton Vantrease. Robert attended local schools including Cavert, Eakin and West End High School, Vanderbilt University, University of Tennessee at Nashville and Watkins Institute. He was employed by Vanderbilt Medical Center in the Department of Medical Illustration for over 65 years. He was a longtime member of the Tennessee Art League, having joined in 1955, and was also a member of the Nashville Artist Guild, Tennessee Watercolor Society and the Pastel Society of America. He also held a lifelong membership at Cheekwood and the Parthenon Conservancy. Robert was a well-known artist in this area. He liked painting landscapes on location; he was noted for his pen and ink architectural renderings of residences, churches, schools and other historical buildings. Frequently he would be seen sketching at the symphony, the ballet, musicals and the circus. His work can be found in numerous corporate and private collections. More recently he had been doing portrait sketches in pencil of friends and family, over one hundred produced in 2006 and 2007. A pen and ink rendering of the Vanderbilt Medical School entrance done in 1953 was used for many years on commencement announcements and many other publications by the University. In the foyer of that entrance is a hand lettered plaque of the Oath of Hippocrates commissioned by the medical school Class of 1953. He also has two paintings hanging at the entrance of the Children’s Hospital. Visitation will be held at Woodlawn Roesch-Patton Funeral Home on Saturday, July 16, 2016, from eleven o’clock until service time at one o’clock in the afternoon, also at the funeral home.
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