Eric Thorsen

Thorsen was born on October 6, 1967, in Glasgow, Montana. He is the son of Marcus Walter Thorsen and Denise Renee Meunier. His father, while in active service in the U.S. Air Force, met Denise Meunier in Le Mans, France. They soon married and moved to Glasgow, Montana, in 1965. Eric was born on the Glasgow, Montana, air force base.[12] Later the family would move to St. Charles, Illinois. Thorsen would spend summers growing up with his mother's family in France visiting the Louvre, Musee D'Orsay, Musee du Rodin and Picasso's museum in Paris.[12] He studied works of Rodin, Picasso, Matisse and many other painters and sculptors.

Active in boy scouts, Thorsen earned the Eagle Scout rank.[13] He graduated high school at age 17 in 1985 from St. Charles High School located in St. Charles, Illinois. Following his graduation from St. Charles High School, Thorsen moved back to his home state of Montana and attended the University of Montana where he studied for several years but did not graduate.[13] Thorsen carved wood sculptures in his college dorm room[13][12] and his first exhibition was in the Ghost Art Gallery in Butte, Montana, in 1988. Thorsen exhibited his works of art while in college and left his studies to pursue creating artwork as a full-time career.[13]

In 1990, Thorsen was contracted to create sculptures to be reproduced by Tom Taber Co.[13] to be used as fundraising items for Ducks Unlimited.[10]Soon after, in 1991, Eric created sculptures for the Meissenburg Design Company commissioned by companies such as Coca-Cola, Walt Disney Attractions, Inc. and non-profit groups.[10][14][13]

In 1995, Thorsen started creating sculptures for Big Sky Carvers with thousands of pieces being sold and millions of dollars being generated[10][15] for non-profit groups nationwide, including Ducks Unlimited.[10][16]

In 1993, he opened a gallery and studio in Bigfork, Montana.[17][18][19]

Thorsen met his future wife, Cyndy Askeland, at the University of Montana in 1987. Askeland majored in education and graduated in 1991 with a degree in education. They were married on August 17, 1991, and two children were born to the couple, daughters Gabrielle and Madelaine.

Eric Thorsen is known for his hyper-realistic style in woodcarving.[20] Early in his career he was drawn to the hyper-realism style being explored by other wood sculptors such as Franz Dutzler and Jett Brunett. In 1992 he entered his woodcarving titled "Mystery of the Redd" into the World Taxidermy & Fish Carving Championships and won the "Best in World" award and title for 1992-1995.[3][1][13][21] At age 23 he is the youngest recipient of this award.[5] Breakthrough magazine wrote about his "Best in World" award-winning sculpture at the World Taxidermy & Fish Carving Championships. "The bright hues of the three fish, the details of the scales and the flex of each fin have an uncanny realism. It's as if the fish were frozen in action for the person to touch".[3][1][21]

In 1995, Thorsen began sculpting in clay creating both stylized and lifelike sculptures of both figurative and animal subjects.[12][22] and casting his sculptures in bronze.[23][24][4][25] Examples of work created include "The Coop", a bronze sculpture depicting Cynthia Cooper for the Nike Campus in Beaverton, Oregon.[8][26] and "Children & Doves", City Civic Center, City of Norwalk, California.[27] Thorsen sculpted a life-size bald eagle bust in under 30 minutes for the C. M. Russell Museum Quickdraw event in 1996.[28]

A bronze sculpture by Thorsen, valued at $18,500, was stolen from Norwalk Civic Center in 2015.[29][30] The bronze, which the thieves had taken to a metal recycler, was later recovered.[31]

Thorsen volunteers at local schools teaching CAD Software and 3D printing technology in the classroom.[32][33][34] His sculptures have raised funds for non-profit organizations throughout the US and Canada through the following organizations: National Ducks Unlimited; National Elk Foundation; and the National Wild Turkey Federation. Thorsen has also raised funds for a dozen or more other organizations, the list of which is too numerous to mention here.

Thorsen's artwork has been displayed in a number of special museum exhibits and gallery shows including:

• 2017 Best of Show II winner at the annual Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sculpture Walk[55][56][46]
• 2014 People's Choice Award, Mankato, MN Art Walk[36][57]
• 2014 Art Walk; Sioux Falls, SD People's Choice Award
• 2012 "Best of Show" Art Walk; Sioux Falls, SD[4]
• 2003 People's Choice, Best Sculpture, C. M. Russell Show, C. M. Russell Museum Complex[58][59][60][61]
• 2002 People's Choice, Best Sculpture, C. M. Russell Show, C. M. Russell Museum Complex.[59]
• 2001 People's Choice, Best Sculpture, C. M. Russell Show, C. M. Russell Museum Complex[59]
• 2000 People's Choice, Best Sculpture, C. M. Russell Show, C. M. Russell Museum Complex[59][2]
• 2000 Award of Excellence, Society of Animal Artists[62][2]
• 1998 C. M. Russell Quick Draw Highest Bid[63]
• 1996 Ralph "Tuffy" Berg Award, C. M. Russell Show C. M. Russell Museum Complex[64][21][65]
• Best of Show, Premium Show of Fine Art
• 1992 Carl E. Akeley Award, Best In World winner, World Taxidermy & Fish Carving Championships[66][21][2]
• 1992 World Fish Carving Championships, First Place, Master Division, World Class

• KPAX-TV special 1994 Under the Big Sky
• Bigfork History Project[67]
• Interview Montana
• 2001 ESPN Interview, Eric Thorsen – Cynthia Cooper dedication[8]
• KDLT-TV, Sioux Falls, SD

• "Montana Living" magazine, 1998 winter issue
• "Big Sky Journal", fly-fishing issue 1995
• Dunbier, Lonnie Pierson (Ed) "Artists' Bluebook": 34,000 North American Artists to March 2005, Page 479
• Davenport, Ray "Davenport's Art Reference": The Gold Edition, 2256
• "Southwest Art", 1997, Western American Art, Page 128