  The equilibrium texture of nematic shells is studied as a function of their
thickness. For ultrathin shells the ground state has four short 1/2
disclination lines but, as the thickness of the film increases, a three
dimensional escaped configuration composed of two pairs of half-hedgehogs
becomes energetically favorable. We derive an exact solution for the nematic
ground state in the one Frank constant approximation and study the stability of
the corresponding texture against thermal fluctuations.
