Thurber (first name unknown) is a character created by H. P. Lovecraft for his short story "Pickman's Model", making his first appearance in print in the October 1927 edition of Weird Tales.
Description[]
Thurber is the narrator of "Pickman's Model", who gets to know Richard Upton Pickman while working on "a monograph about weird art"; he describes himself as "fairly 'hard-boiled'", as well as "middle-aged and decently sophisticated". He is apparently a World War I veteran: "I guess you saw enough of me in France to know I'm not easily knocked out." (HPL: "Pickman's Model")
History[]
In Lovecraft's Works[]
A friend of Pickman's, Thurber was invited to a tour of his gallery, during the course of which he bore witness to Pickman's fate and discovered the truth behind his inspiration (HPL: "Pickman's Model").
In Other Works[]
Casefile: Arkham- Nightmare on the Canvas[]
In a slightly altered timeline, Thurber is one of the people interviewed by private detective Hank Flynn during his search for the missing Pickman. Thurber is by this point a wreck of a man, driven to the bottle by what he has learned.
Behind the Mythos[]
Given Thurber's self-description, An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia finds his horror at Pickman's paintings "implausible...strained and hysterical".
Thurber is one of several Lovecraft characters to develop a phobia as a result of his horrific experiences; (Lovecraft Remembered) his fear of subways and other underground spaces resembles that of the narrator of "The Lurking Fear", who "cannot see a well or a subway entrance without shuddering".