He "arrived" in Vancouver in 1908, according to an exhibition entry form filled out by the artist for a B.C. Artists exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery. He exhibited in the B.C. Artists annuals beginning in 1932, and in 1933, from 1938 to 1950, and in 1952 and 1953. He had his first solo exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1936, and another in 1939, eventually having ten solo exhibitions at the Gallery. He also exhibited in the 1945 B.C. At Work exhibition, noted as living in Mission City at the time.

He won prizes for his work in 1922, 1923, and 1924, and a first prize for etching at the Provincial Exhibition in 1928. He had a solo exhibition at the Curry Art Emporium, Toronto, in 1930. He was employed as a commercial artist at David Hall Signs, Vancouver BC.

He married Ivy Emma Taylor in Vancouver on December 22, 1937. Thorne was a 41-year old widower at the time, and she was a 28-year old widow.

He showed work in the 1944 and 1945 British Columbia At Work exhibitions at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

He had work in the 1948 Stanley Park in Pictures exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

He submitted four works to the 1949 B.C. Graphic exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery, one of them was selected for the exhibition.

In 1977 the artist was living in Vancouver.

Thorne was an extremely prolific artist, painting literally thousands of watercolours over the years, sometimes many in one day. As a result, the overall quality of his later work seemed to suffer, and the paintings have sold for very low prices at auction. He died from cancer in Vancouver in 1982 at the age of 86. He had been living on Nelson Street in Vancouver's West End with his son G. Peter Thorne.

Exhibitions

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

DATE	EXHIBITION	ARTWORK
1932 May - July	VAG   All Canadian Exhibition	The Lost Lake
1932 Oct. 5 - 30	VAG   B.C. Artists 1st Annual	Horne Lake, V.I.
		Golf Links, Stanley Park
		Totem Factory, B.C.
		The Hunter's Return
1933 Sept. 22 - Oct. 15	VAG   B.C. Artists 2nd Annual	Up the Fraser Valley
		Summer Camp
		Farm at Rosedale
1933 Dec. 1 - 17	VAG   B.C. Artists Christmas Exhibition	Drift, Under Cambie Bridge
		Sunset (From Burrard Bridge)
		Expelled
1934 Sept. 21 - Oct. 14	VAG   B.C. Artists 3rd Annual	Waterfall, Lynn Creek
1935 Sept. 20 - Oct. 15	VAG   B.C. Artists 4th Annual	Dr. Hwa Ho, Chinese God of Medicine
		Ravine in Stanley Park
		Stuffed Owls
		The Swimming Hole
1936 Sept. 18 - Oct. 11	VAG   B.C. Artists 5th Annual	Shady Nook, Stanley Park
1936 Oct. 15 - 20	VAG   B.C. Artists Chilliwack Exhibition	Shady Nook, Stanley Park
1938 Sept. 16 - Oct. 9	VAG   B.C. Artists 7th Annual	Far, Far Away
		Beside the Track (New Westminster)
1939 Sept. 15 - Oct. 8	VAG   B.C. Artists 8th Annual	Tired Mother
		The Art Gallery At Night
1940 Sept. 20 - Oct. 13	VAG   B.C. Artists 9th Annual	West of West
		Building Grain Bins
		On the Nicomaci, B.C.
		In the Park
1941 Sept. 26 - Oct. 19	VAG   B.C. Artists 10th Annual	V for Victory
		Styles
		The Mill at Night
		Switching Grain Cars
1942 Sept. 25 - Oct. 18	VAG   B.C. Artists 11th Annual	The Gossip
		In Stanley Park
		Non-Objective Drawing
		Old Book Shop
1943 Sept. 25 - Oct. 20	VAG   B.C. Artists 12th Annual	Outside Stalingrad
		New Guinea Epilogue
1944 Sept. 23 - Oct. 22	VAG   B.C. Artists 13th Annual	Flight of the Bumble Bee
		Flitting the Summer Away
		Convalescent
1944 Nov. 21 - Dec. 10	Labour Arts Guild   1st B.C. At Work	Saturday Afternoon
		Boilers
		Night Shift
1945 May 18 - June 10	BCSFA   35th Annual	Spring Comes to Victory Square
1945 Sept. 22 - Oct. 21	VAG   B.C. Artists 14th Annual	V-Day, Flag Vendor
		An Artist in Coquitlam, B.C.
1945 Nov. 13 - Dec. 2	Labour Arts Guild   2nd B.C. At Work	White and Brown Bread Dough
		Boom Men at Marpole
		Shingle Bolt Mill
1946 May 31 - June 23	BCSFA   36th Annual	Pioneer Vancouver, 1886
1946 July 2 - 28	VAG   Jubilee Exhibition	The Habitant
1946 Aug. 13 - 25	VAG   Stanley Park in Pictures	The Nine O'Clock Gun
		The Black Squirrels
		The Pavilion in Winter
1946 Sept. 21 - Oct. 13	VAG   B.C. Artists 15th Annual	Pain
1947 July 8 - 27	VAG   B.C. Artists Summer Exhibition	Pain
1947 Sept. 20 - Oct. 12	VAG   B.C. Artists 16th Annual	Kitsilano Moon Maid
		Frost
1948 July 27 - Aug. 15	VAG   Stanley Park in Pictures	Rhythm at Siwash Rock
1948 Sept. 18 - Oct. 10	VAG   B.C. Artists 17th Annual	Fingal's Cave by Mendelssohn
1949 May 3 - 22	BCSFA   39th Annual	Autumn Flowers
1949 July 12 - July 31	VAG   Stanley Park in Pictures	Totem Pole Carvers
1949 Oct. 8 - 30	VAG   B.C. Artists 18th Annual	X-Ray Hand Treatment
1949 Nov. 22 - Dec. 11	VAG   First B.C. Graphic	The Hunters Return (rejected)
		St. Anne's, New Westminster
		Gathering for the Potlatch (rejected)
		The Toquit Dancer (rejected)
1950 April 25 - May 14	BCSA   40th Annual	Quiet Evening
1950 Nov. 28 - Dec. 17	VAG   B.C. Artists 19th Annual	Window Shopping, Self Portrait

References - GROUP EXHIBITIONS

SPRING EXHIBITION - FCA - BC REGION (refer to FCA64)

PRINTMAKING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA 1889-1983 (refer to AGGV83)

DAILY GRIND EXHIBITIONS (refer to DG04)

References - GENERAL

VISUAL ARTS BRITISH COLUMBIA (refer to VABC77)

ARTISTS IN CANADA 1982 - UNION LIST OF ARTISTS' FILES (refer to AIC82)

BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX OF ARTISTS IN CANADA (refer to BIAC03)
      3 references cited for Thorne, including WWNA above.

THE FECKLESS COLLECTION (refer to FECK18)

VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY - B.C. ARTISTS FILES (refer to VPL)

B.C. VITAL STATISTICS ON-LINE (refer to BCVS)

Clippings

"City Artist Gives One-Man Exhibition" by E.N.B.
    Vancouver Daily Province, April 18, 1939

"Kit Thorne Interprets B.C." by (unknown)
    Vancouver Daily Province, April 9, 1940

"Kit Thorne Sketches on View at Gallery" by (unknown)
    Vancouver Sun, April 10, 1940

"Six shows in Gallery During April" by (unknown)
    News-Herald, April 9, 1940