Anthony Thieme (1888-1954)

Anthony Thieme was an acclaimed marine painter, landscape artist, and a central figure in the Rockport School of American Art. Renowned for his vivid plein air oil paintings of New England harbors, fishing villages, and coastal scenes, Thieme helped establish Rockport, Massachusetts, as a major hub of American Impressionism in the early 20th century.

Born in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 1888, Thieme studied at the Academie of Fine Arts in Rotterdam and the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. He began his career as a stage designer across Europe, including work in England, France, and Italy, before emigrating to the United States at age 22. In New York City, he designed sets for the famed ballerina Anna Pavlova at the Century Theater.

After extensive travels through South America and Europe, Thieme returned to the U.S. and eventually settled in Rockport, Massachusetts, in 1929. There, he established the Thieme School of Art, becoming a prominent instructor and mentor within the Cape Ann art colony. His contemporaries included Aldro Hibbard, Emile Gruppe, W. Lester Stevens, Antonio Cirino, and Marguerite Pierson.

Thieme was known for his mastery of light and atmosphere, often painting en plein air in locations such as Gloucester, Cape Ann, Florida, Mexico, Guatemala, and France. His works blend Impressionist technique with a keen sensitivity to natural light and coastal activity. He once remarked, “The open air is my studio... A good landscape painter must paint fast to catch the light of any hour.”

During his lifetime, Thieme received numerous awards including the Delano Prize from the New York Watercolor Club. His paintings are held in prestigious museum collections such as the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

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