Thornton Utz (1914 - 1999) American, Oil on Masonite Society portrait of a young woman with blond hair, holding a basket of flowers. Circa 1950/60s. Overall Size: 48 7/8 x 38 3/4 in. Sight Size: 39 5/8 x 29 1/2 in. Frame Thickness: 2 in. #5625 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. 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 Princess Grace of Monaco and President Jimmy Carter. In addition to personal portraits of Carter, the family's 1977 Thanksgiving celebration is forever immortalized, thanks to Utz. One of his most serious artist decisions came in 1987, when he was commissioned to design the stained-glass windows for the Catholic Church of the Incarnation. Collections of Utz's work have been on display at the Air Force Academy in Colorado, the Pentagon and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. Location BA