Mellow couldn't remember Thurn's first name, but recalled he was "short, pudgy, balding with a fringe of gray hair, forever chewing on a mangled cigar..." Mellow pronounced his teacher "disappointing," but noted that Thurn did wear a beret "... and that was surely the badge of authenticity." - excerpt from Essex County Chronicles: Years before WWII a tumultuous time for trio of Gloucester artists.

Ernest Thurn. Who? Exactly. He was even forgotten by his students. He's not a household name. One of the countless artists who time and the history books have forgotten. So I had to dig deep to find any information about him. And to debunk some of the information online about him. Let me share what I know so far. Mr. Thurn was born in 1889 in Chicago. He attended University in Chicago and joined an arts club called the Palette and Chisel Club in 1908.



He began appearing in their theatrical events as early as 1911 and would continue to do so through 1921. It appears that he thought of himself as a commercial and illustrative artist, rather than only a fine artist, and exhibited with the Palette and Chisel club in 1914, 1915 and 1916.



In 1922, Mr. Thurn traveled to Germany and wound up studying under Hans Hofmann until 1927. There's a source online that states Mr. Thurn studied in Paris, France under Andre Lhote at the Academie Julian - this is not true. As far as I can tell, Thurn stayed in Germany from 1922 through 1927. Thurn returned to the States and opened his first art school in the Lincoln Square neighborhood in New York City (often misstated as Lincoln Center) and finally settled his school in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Thurn now considered himself a Modernist thanks to his studies with Hofmann, who he also persuaded to teach at his Gloucester school in the early 1930's. It was here where Thurn met his future wife, Helen Stein, who was a good friend of Marsden Hartley. But Hartley and Thurn did not see eye to eye. One afternoon the pair were driving around Gloucester when Thurn turned and asked Hartley, "What shall we do now?" Hartley replied, "Little I care what you are going to do, I'm going to see Helen." And that was the best of their relationship. From photographic evidence, it appears that Thurn and Stein divorced some time in 1942, just six years after marrying.

I've searched up the scant few examples of his work online and I have to say that none of them look anything like the French Impressionist painting of pollard trees that bears his signature and the date of 1909.



But don't just take my word for it, have a look at these works all by Ernest Thurn and choose for yourself.









The next few decades until Thurn's death in 1971 provide no information on his life. I could find no information regarding a trip to France, Impressionism, landscape painting or anything relating to the style and genre of the painting that bears his name and the date of 1909. It would appear that I have still more questions than answers but I am confident that Ernest Thurn did not paint this landscape. Now I just have to figure out who did. ;-) hkv