Thorpe was born in Sandridge, Victoria and when quite young the family moved to New South Wales, finally settled in Sydney, where he was educated at St John's Grammar School, Parramatta.
[2] He was a member of the (Sydney) Society of Artists, and showed successfully alongside the likes of G. W. Lambert, Sid Long, Dattilo-Rubbo, J. S. Watkins, Edith Loudon, Mildred Rivett, Tom Roberts, W. F. Hughes, C. Lloyd Jones and Howard Ashton.
[3] In 1898 he had several paintings shown at the Grafton Galleries' "Exhibition of Australian Art"[4] in London, and in May 1900 left for England,[2] his position on the Mail having become tenuous with the advent of photo-engraving.
[5] Around this time he changed direction and resuscitated his hard-won skills as a woodblock engraver, producing the large, bold bright colourful prints for which he became famous.
They sing out from a white wall, recalling a walk through a garden or a day with Nature" and "His work is consistent in its dignity, its strength, and its happy related colour ...