Anthony Thieme (Dutch / American, 1888-1954)

One of the best-known plein-air American impressionist artists, Anthony Thieme claimed, "the open air is my studio”. He was born on February 20, 1888 in Rotterdam, Holland and studied in Germany under George Hacker in Dusseldorf. Later, in Turin, Italy, Giuseppe Mancini and Carlo Bini showed him more in the wonderful world of art.

Already having an insatiable taste for art, when he immigrated to America in 1917, he began painting Broadway backdrops in New York and eventually settled in Rockport, MA where he established his studio, the Thieme School of Art from 1929 to 1943. It was here in Rockport where he found his impressionist-inspired views of the local harbor, streets, quarries, and coastline.

His technique differs from most artists of his time period but it is thought to be a product of his traveling lifestyle, and being a part of the world. He typically wintered in South Carolina, Guatemala, Mexico, and the Bahamas, as well as in St. Augustine, Florida, where he took a studio in 1947.

Because of his frequent intercourse with multiple environments, he was enveloped in different cultures and scenes that can be shown through his colors, strokes, and subject matters. It was so refined that art critics to connoisseurs alike praised his work. He has won numerous prizes, has and is featured in a number of museums, and has found a permanent place in literature.

Exhibited:
National Academy of Design 1930-1934; Art Institute of Chicago 1930; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts 1929-1931; Corcoran Gallery of Art 1932; Los Angeles Museum of Art 1930, 1931 (prize); Albright Art Gallery 1932; Detroit Institute of Art 1931; Salmagundi Club 1929 and 1931 (prizes); Springfield, Utah 1928 and 1931 (prizes); Gloucester Art Association 1928 (prize); Springfield Art League 1927 and 1928 (prizes); North Shore Art Association 1930 (prize); Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts 1930 (prize); Jordon Marsh Exhibition (Boston) 1944 (medal); New York Water Color Club 1930 (prize); Boston Tercentenary Exhibition 1930; Ogunquit Art Center 1930; New Haven Painters and Clay Club 1931 (prize); Washington Water Color Club 1931(prize); Los Angeles Museum of Art; Buck Hill Falls Art Association (Pennsylvania) 1938 (prize); he also exhibited in Belgium, France and Holland.

Museums / Private Collections:
Boston Museum of Fine Art; Pittsfield Museum of Art (Massachusetts); Albany Institute of History and Art; Dayton Art Institute; City of New Haven Collection; College of Springfield (Utah); University of Iowa; Museum of Modern Art; Los Angeles Museum of History, Science & Art; Beach College, Storrs, Connecticut; Montclair Art Museum (New Jersey).

In literature, he is internationally recognized appearing in Benezit; Davenport; Fielding; Mallett; Thieme-Becker; the Witt Library Computer Index; and many "Who's Who." The Rockport Art Association held a retrospective exhibition of his works and the accompanying text details his life and works: Judith A Curtis, "Anthony Thieme 1888-1954," Rockport Art Association, 1999.

Credit Visual | Self portrait