Ralston Carlton Thompson was born in 1904 in Ironton, Ohio. He graduated from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, in 1925 and went on to study at the Dayton Art Institute, Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, finally earning an MFA from Ohio State University. Thompson exhibited widely. He taught at the Cincinatti Art Academy, was a member of the Ohio Arts Council and, from 1941 to 1965, was Chairman of the Fine Arts Department at Wittenberg University. In the fall of 1974 "Ralston Thompson: A Retrospective, 1933-1974" was held at the Springfield Art Center.