Anthony Thieme

Who was Anthony Thieme?

Anthony Thieme was a landscape and marine painter and a major figure of the Rockport School of American regional art. He was a contemporary of important Rockport artists Aldro Hibbard, Emil Gruppe, W. Lester Stevens, Antonio Cirino, and Marguerite Pierson.

Born in Rotterdam on 20 February 1888, Thieme studied at the Academie of Fine Arts in Rotterdam for two years and then, briefly, at the Royal Academy, the Hague. He traveled widely in Europe, frequently finding work as a stage designer.

Thieme traveled to the United States at the age of 22. He quickly found work as a stage designer at the Century Theater in New York, designing sets for the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. When the commission ended, he traveled to South America, primarily Brazil and Argentina. Stage work again provided his livelihood. A return to Europe followed with further work in England, France, and Italy.

Returning to the United States with a contract for additional stage work, Thieme found himself in Boston. He discontinued work on the stage in 1928 and from then on made his living with the sales of his paintings and etchings. Thieme married Lillian Beckett in 1929 and moved to Rockport, MA.