Born in Rotterdam, Holland in 1888, Anthony Thieme studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Art in The Hague, as well in Italy and Germany. Thieme emigrated to the United States in the early 1920s, initially residing in New York City where he painted Broadway backdrops. He eventually set up studios in Rockport, Massachusetts, and in St. Augustine, Florida. His best known works are of boats, fisherman and harbors. In Rockport he established and directed the Thieme School of Art.

Thieme was a member of the American Water Color Society, Art Alliance of America, Salmagundi Club, Boston Art Club, Boston Society of Artists, North Shore Art Association, Rockport Art Association, New York Water Color Club, American Artists Professional League, Art Alliance of Philadelphia and the National Arts Club. He exhibited at the National Academy of Design, Art Institute of Chicago, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Los Angeles Museum of Art, Albright Art Gallery, Detroit Institute of Art, New York Water Color Club and New Haven Painters and Clay Club. Thieme also exhibited in Belgium, France and Holland.

Thieme's work is in the Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Fine Art in Boston, Albany Institute of History and Art, Dayton Art Institute, Los Angeles Museum of History and many other public collections.