Pie Face written by Velma Doreith, illustrated by Diana Thorne.
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Diana Thorne, Canine Artist, Part II
Frank J. Leskovitz
IN ADDITION TO dog etchings, Diana Thorne is known for a series of socially sensitive etchings published in a portfolio, The Human Comedy, done in 1928. Thorne also executed a series of popular sports etchings featuring topics such as skiing and boxing which were characterized by multiple images engraved on the same plate. Very much in demand as an animal portrait painter, she received commissions to paint some of the most famous dogs in America, including Franklin D. Roosevelt's Scottie "Fala".
From Diana Thorne's Dogs - An album of drawings by Diana Thorne. Julian Messner Inc, New York, 1944.
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Thorne was most active between the 1920s and 1940s with her work appearing in numerous magazines and newspapers including The American Magazine, The Woman's Home Companion, Maclean's, National Home Monthly, This Week Magazine, The American Kennel Gazette, The New York Times, The Boston Post, and The New York Herald Tribune. Noted galleries such as Kennedy & Company and Schwartz Galleries of New York City and the Gage Gallery of Cleveland carried many of her etchings, which were produced in editions ranging from fifty to one hundred signed impressions. Her print Pan of Puck Hill, was featured in England's Fine Prints of the Year and was also selected as one of the Graphic Arts Society's Fifty Best Prints of the Year by the Chicago Society of Etchers. Thorne received widespread acclaim for her unique etchings, sketches, watercolors, sculpture, lithography, and paintings, which were exhibited in the principal cities of the United States and England. She had her first New York City showing in April 1929 at the Schwartz Galleries in an exhibition titled, Drypoints and Drawings by Diana Thorne.
American Magazine Diana Thorne, cover illustration.
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In 1930, her work was presented at three solo exhibitions. The first took place at the Vose Galleries of Boston and was followed by additional exhibitions in New York City at Milch Galleries and the Fifty-Sixth Street Galleries. Her work was also featured at the Brooklyn Museum of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, The College of William & Mary, and the Rhode Island School of Design. Thorne was an early member of the Associated American Artists. This organization was created in New York City in 1934 with the mission of bridging the gap between artists and their audiences by making fine art affordable.
DOGS Paintings and Stories by Diana Thorne. Saalfield Publishing Co, 1932.
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A leading publisher of original art, the AAA commissioned etchings and lithographs from Diana Thorne and other artists. In 1944, Thorne became the art director of the John C. Winston Company, which also published several of her most popular illustrated children's books. In addition to many successful shows and exhibitions devoted to her work, she was also awarded memberships in several prestigious print societies and clubs, including the Chicago Society of Etchers, National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors, Royal Society of Painters and Sculptors, Boston Arts Club, Philadelphia Art Alliance, and the California Print Makers. Thorne's love of dogs and animals is clearly evident in her etchings. She had the unique ability to capture the essence of "man's best friend" in clever portraitures.
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