Leonard Thiessen

Leonard Thiessen was an artist from Omaha, Nebraska, best known for his work as the first art critic for the Omaha World-Herald and for his contributions to Nebraska arts administration. He was the first Executive Director of the Nebraska Arts Council and encouraged the establishment of Nebraska art collections and museums.

Early life Charles Leonard Thiessen, Jr. was born on May 3, 1902, in Omaha, Nebraska, to parents Charles "Charlie" Leonard Thiessen, Sr. and Jean Louise Berg Thiessen. He was raised as an only child by his parents and aunt Wilhelmina "Minnie" Berg. His family was active in the Omaha arts scene, exposing Leonard to theater, dance, and music from a young age. His mother was a local folk artist who worked in felt and fabric art, and his father worked for an Omaha printing company. They then moved their household to Stone Avenue in North Omaha, which Leonard would keep as a permanent address throughout the rest of his life. and then in Pi Kappa Alpha at University of Nebraska. Thiessen then studied at the Heatherly School of Fine Art in London before enrolling at the Swedish Royal Academy of Art in Stockholm in 1932.

In 1941, Thiessen accepted a position in Des Moines, Iowa, as supervisor of Iowa's cultural program for the federal Works Progress Administration. Thiessen succeeded Grant Wood in this role before the program stopped in 1941 with the beginning of World War II. Thiessen volunteered for the army in 1942 and served as a draftsman for the U.S. Air Force Intelligence Forces in Kettering, England. Thiessen taught various classes throughout his career, including art history and appreciation classes at the Joslyn Art Museum He was among the first group of artists to receive a Governor's Arts Award in 1978 for his work on the Nebraska Arts Council. He also held an honorary degree from Creighton University and was an honorary life member of Omaha Artists Inc.

Thiessen spent his retirement in his home on Stone Avenue creating art and remaining involved in the local art scene until his passing in 1989 at the age of 87. Thiessen produced work using both traditional methods from his formal fine arts education, Thiessen was commissioned alongside Bill J. Hammon in 1955 to design what was the largest mosaic mural in the U.S. at the time of its creation for the Pershing Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. and most recently in 2019 at the Museum of Nebraska Art.