BIOGRAPHY

John Howard Thein was born in Milwaukee, WI on September 6, 1942. After earning his BFA from the Layton School of Art with studies at Marquette University, John earned his MA and MFA from the University of Iowa, where he both taught, and was the premier printer for artist Mauricio Lasansky. As Lasansky’s printer, he worked on Lasansky’s renowned ‘Nazi Drawings’ series’.  John also studied in Paris at the famous Atelier 17, with Stanley William Hayter . Upon returning to the University of Iowa, John accepted a position at Creighton University where he went on to have a distinguished career as a professor at Creighton University for 40 years. John taught countless students and helped nurture a connection between Native American culture and art in particular. 

 

John’s work in the arts encompassed all mediums-printmaking, drawing, painting, sculpture, glass sculpture, furniture design, and fabric images. John also created large-scale public installations for civic and local and national commissions.

 

Over the years, John's work highlighted the story of Native Americans, especially the massacre of the Lakota Sioux at Wounded Knee. His singular passion to chronicle this event lead to the creation of his work, "Wounded Knee: The Painted Spirit." John's epic Wounded Knee series is on loan in the founding collection of the ArtBank in McCook, NE. This monumental canvas project was a dedication of 22 years of John's life and talent and artistic passion.

 

His work can be viewed in collections worldwide, from the Shannxia Art Museum in Xia, China, and the Instituto Guatemala America, in Guatemala City, Guatemala., to the Sheldon Art Gallery in Lincoln, NE. John participated in countless shows through his career, worldwide, including one-man shows at CFM Gallery in New York, China, Mexico, and England, to cite a few.