Born in Warrensburg, Missouri, Thorwald Probst was a painter and illustrator in pen and ink who, as a member of the California Art Club, did "plein air" landscape painting including the Grand Canyon.

He studied in the United States at the Corcoran Gallery, the California School of Fine Arts, and in Denmark at the Royal Academy and with Iner Olsen and Viggo Langer. He also studied in Italy and Germany. By 1916, he was active as an artist in Los Angeles, and the Franciscan missions became a favorite subject. He was also active in nearby Arizona where he painted the Grand Canyon.

His wife, Leetha, wrote a book, "Poems of California Missions" that he illustrated. In 1926, he opened the Beverly Hills Art Gallery, where his work and that of other artists was sold.

He died in Los Angeles on December 24, 1948.

Source:
Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"