Leonard Thiessen

Leonard Thiessen (1902-1989)

Leonard Thiessen was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and attended Omaha University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Swedish Royal Academy in Stockholm and the Heatherly School of Art in London.  He received an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from Creighton University in 1972.

Thiessen successfully worked as a designer, painter, sculptor, printmaker and muralist.

He served as State Director for the Iowa Federal Art Project from 1941 to 1942.  Between 1938 and 1950, he was the art critic for The Omaha World Herald. Thiessen acted as Executive Secretary of the Nebraska Arts Council from 1966 to 1974 and was both a founding member of the Nebraska Art Collection and a great supporter of the mission of the Collection and the Museum of Nebraska Art. In 1978, he was the recipient of the Governor’s Arts Award.

Thiessen’s work has shown in numerous public and private collections including the Nebraska Art Collection, Joslyn Art Museum and Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery.