Local Painter’s Apprentice Lineage Descends From Henry Hensche

Diane Cary-Thomson used to do pottery. Some of the bowls she made on her pottery wheel are on display in her house.

Then doctors told her she’d never be able to use her right arm again.

On Christmas Eve in 1974, Cary-Thomson was heading home from a party on Capitol Hill when she was shot and robbed. Doctors told her they wanted to amputate her arm, as she’d never be able to use it again.

Though her physical therapy was painful, Cary-Thomson said she was determined to “turn this into something good.”

She took a sculpting class where she would take a weighted mallet and throw it against stone. Through that, she regained the use of her arm.

“We’re led in circuitous routes sometimes,” Cary-Thomson said. “It was all for the good.”

Now, Cary-Thomson refers to her house as her biggest sculpture. The walls are lined with paintings from Cary-Thomson and her teachers, each one with its own backstory. She and her husband bought the Severna Park property in 1982 and built the house from the ground up. It overlooks the Severn River, which Cary-Thomson draws a lot of inspiration from in her art.

“Nature is so magnificent and so beautiful that what I would like to do is to celebrate the beauty of God’s creation,” Cary-Thomson said.

After moving to Severna Park from Washington, D.C., Cary-Thomson said she was looking for something to do in the Annapolis area when a flyer for Maryland Hall arrived in her mailbox.

“I thought, ‘Oh, my goodness! That’s it!’” Cary-Thomson said.

At Maryland Hall, Cary-Thomson started studying painting with Bonnie Roth Anderson and John Ebersberger, both of whom studied with Henry Hensche. Through this lineage, Cary-Thomson said she feels akin to other artists, describing it as having “grandparents in painting like you do in life.”

The well-known artists in Cary-Thomson’s lineage start at William Merritt Chase, who taught Charles Hawthorne, who taught Henry Hensche, who taught her teachers Joanette and Cedric Egeli, Bonnie Roth Anderson and John Ebersberger.

“All these people are all related that way,” said Cary-Thomson, who spent more than 20 years at Maryland Hall.

“Maryland Hall is a phenomenal place for artists to meet, and for them to work and showcase their work,” Cary-Thomson said. “It’s an essential ingredient to the Annapolis art community.”

Since picking up painting, Cary-Thomson has most enjoyed painting people, especially themes with mothers and daughters. She likes painting people within their spaces where they have a relationship that defines who they are. She has also worked as copy artist at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

“Everyone’s so beautiful,” Cary-Thomson said. “When you’re able to see that beauty, it’s joyful.”

One of her favorite paintings that she’s done features a little boy in a baseball uniform. The title of the painting is a message that Cary-Thomson’s pastor gave: “Thank God For Outs.”

Cary-Thomson’s work is currently on display at Benfield Gallery and Main Street Gallery in Annapolis. For more information, visit www.dianecary-thomson.com.