Thorton Utz Paintings

Original signed painting by Thornton Utz of Siesta Beach located in Sarasota, Florida where the artist lived. Signed lower left. Condition is very good. Oil paint on board. Wild flowers mixed into the beach grass with seagulls flying along the beach. Overall framed in original period frame in a brown copper patina. Overall measurements are 25.25 by 31 inches. Provenance: Sarasota, Florida estate collection. Thornton Utz was born Nov. 15, 1914, in Memphis, Tennessee, where he spent his young years doodling in textbooks. After discovering his artistic talent, he struggled to save enough money to attend art school in Chicago. With the country in a depression, Utz could afford only one year at the American Academy of the Arts and though he studied there for only a short time, he learned the secret to being a great artist: drawing continually. And draw Utz did, as well as paint, illustrate and design. Initial recognition of his work came for his illustrations. During the 1940s and '50s, Utz provided advertising illustrations for clients such as Coca-Cola, General Electric and Ford Motor Co. His work also graced more than 50 covers of the 'Saturday Evening Post.' International fame came with portraits of...

Thornton Utz liked to work out the poses of his figures with rapid, free sketches that clearly expressed the mood or mental attitude of his characters. Once this had been established, he then posed an photographed his models, as nearly as possible, in the predetermined positions. The photos furnished the details of folds and lighting which lent added factuality to his original poses. He used this approach effectively for his humorous Saturday Evening Post covers as well as for the more serious fiction illustrations for Cosmopolitan, McCall’s, The Ladies’ Home Journal, Redbook, and Good Housekeeping. Utz participated in the Society of Illustrators Air Force Art Program and received a citation from General Curtis LeMay for documenting the airlift of Hungarian refugees. Utz also received the Governor Bryant of Florida Award for his freedom posters...

Signature: Signed Lower left "Sam Stopped people on the street - where's Steve Sierherin's store?" "The Battle of Pilgrim Hill," Magazine Story by James Charles Lynch for the Saturday Evening Post, November 16, 1946, illustrated by Thornton Utz. Thornton Utz liked to work out the poses of his figures with rapid, free sketches that clearly expressed the mood or mental attitude of his characters. Once this had been established, he then posed an photographed his models, as nearly as possible, in the predetermined positions. The photos furnished the details of folds and lighting which lent added factuality to his original poses. He used this approach effectively for his humorous Saturday Evening Post covers as well as for the more serious fiction illustrations for Cosmopolitan, McCall’s, The Ladies’ Home Journal, Redbook, and Good Housekeeping. Utz participated in the Society of Illustrators Air Force Art Program and received a citation from General Curtis LeMay for documenting the airlift of Hungarian refugees. Utz also received the Governor Bryant of Florida Award for his freedom posters...

Medium: Oil on Board Signature: Signed Lower Left Portrait of Lady Diana. Thornton Utz liked to work out the poses of his figures with rapid, free sketches that clearly expressed the mood or mental attitude of his characters. Once this had been established, he then posed an photographed his models, as nearly as possible, in the predetermined positions. The photos furnished the details of folds and lighting which lent added factuality to his original poses. He used this approach effectively for his humorous Saturday Evening Post covers as well as for the more serious fiction illustrations for Cosmopolitan, McCall’s, The Ladies’ Home Journal, Redbook, and Good Housekeeping. Utz participated in the Society of Illustrators Air Force Art Program and received a citation from General Curtis LeMay for documenting the airlift of Hungarian refugees. Utz also received the Governor Bryant of Florida Award for his freedom posters. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and studied under Burton Callicott in Memphis. He also attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago and late taught at the Chicago Art Institute. Utz eventually concentrated on paintings and commissioned portraiture, which included President Carter...