Untitled (Portrait of Woman)

Anthony Thorn (born Arthur Goldman; 1927-2014) was a Canadian painter, potter, and art educator. Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, he adopted the pseudonym Anthony Thorn early in his career to "avoid anti-Semitic backlash." He began his formal art training at the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art in Calgary (1947-50) and continued his studies internationally, undertaking a remarkable and diverse artistic education. This included a period in Paris studying stained glass at the Centre d'Art Sacré and, most significantly, an apprenticeship in 1955 with the seminal Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros in Mexico City. His studies also took him to Kyoto, Japan, for watercolour and sumi painting and to Corfu, Greece, for metalsmithing. Upon returning to Canada, he held various teaching positions, including at the Vancouver School of Art (now Emily Carr University of Art + Design), the University of British Columbia, and Lakehead University in Thunder Bay.

Thorn's artistic practice evolved throughout his career. He initially gained recognition as a potter, creating functional and sculptural ceramic works. In the mid-1960s, he transitioned to painting, working primarily in egg tempera and later in oil. His paintings are noted for their detailed, realistic style, often described as magic realism. His subject matter frequently included still lifes, landscapes, and allegorical scenes that incorporated symbolic objects and figures, exploring themes of time, memory, and the human condition.

Thorn moved to Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, in 1972, where he lived and worked until his death. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. His work has been exhibited across Canada and is held in numerous public collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. He received the B.C. Centennial Award in 1958. Eight of his works in public collections have been honored with the designation "of outstanding significance and national importance" by the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board.