"Girl with Scarf"

Original mixed media composed of graphite, watercolor, gouache and acrylic paint on hardboard by the well known American artist, Thornton Utz. Signed lower left and dated 1992. Condition is excellent. The young smiling girl with a flowing scarf and surrounded by a sold pink background is the central focus of this painting. The painting is housed in a whitewash wood frame. Overall framed measurements are 21.25 by 36 inches. Provenance: A Sarasota, Florida collector.

THORNTON UTZ, AMERICAN (1914 – 1999)
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 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.

'He struggled a lot before accepting the windows at Incarnation,' said Utz's son Scott. 'He was troubled because of a passage in the Bible on how we shouldn't carve idols and engrave images. He didn't want his work to be glorified.'

A man of religious conviction, Utz feared that his artwork would be recognized more than the biblical message behind it.

Despite his achievements, Utz never fancied himself an artist talent. 'He was so humble, though so little of himself,' said his daughter Dawn Hadley. 'He never thought of himself as a great artist. That was just his work and his trade. That's what he did to provide for his family.'

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.