Artist Lucie Cross ‘Toss’ Chandler (February 7, 1934 – January 10, 2023) is a beloved Kentucky painter. This collection is a celebration of her works, including acrylics, oils, watercolors, charcoals, pastels and more. Her daughter-in-law, editor, Jennifer Chandler has compiled as many of her works as she could locate in a painstaking process to (re)introduce Toss to art lovers, conservationists and historians. 

The only child of Lady Louise Boswell and Whitney Dunlap, Toss was raised in Woodford County, Kentucky surrounded by 400 acres of rolling farmland and wooded groves. With a deep love of history and land, plants and animals, all things of the natural world, Toss Chandler also loved things of an unseen, magical world. Hidden in flowers, trees and creek banks, she saw a world filled with fantastical beasts and beautiful sprites. Best known for her rich, fantasy paintings and her bold florals, Toss’s subjects ranged from provocative to whimsical to nostalgic.

Toss studied Fine Arts at the University of Kentucky and was a graduate of the Chicago School of Interior Design. In 1956, she trained at the prestigious Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. A Juried Artist, Toss was a proud member of the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen. Her work can be found in homes and museums throughout Kentucky and beyond.