Born in Rotterdam, Thieme studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts at The Hague, Holland and in Italy and Germany. He came to the United States in 1920 and set up residence in Rockport, Massachusetts. He was instrumental in making Rockport a center for art and artists, and he established the Thieme School of Art with himself as director. Thieme also set up a winter studio in St. Augustine, Florida, and every year he would migrate with the seasons. He is most well known for his works of boats, fishermen, and harbors, reflecting the many coastal towns he stayed in while traveling between Massachusetts and Florida.