Whenever I have a chance to do so in person, I stop and look at art by Wayne Thiebaud. His work is immediately recognizable, whether it be cakes, bakery cases, lollipops, gumball machines, figures or landscapes. Today Thiebaud turns 100!

Here are a few of the paintings I stopped to take pictures of, that I found in museums I was able to visit in the past year, before travel came to a screeching halt. There is an exhibition Wayne Thiebaud 100: Paintings, Prints and Drawings at the Crocker Art Museum now through January 3, 2021. Since the museum is currently closed, you can look at the show online, like I did. I still hope to see the show in person.

Here is a nice article about Thiebaud from The Washington Post.

I grew up aware of Thiebaud’s paintings of commonplace objects and, while I do enjoy all of his work, I like his landscape paintings most of all. I mentioned the ones below in a previous blog post.

“Truly one of the most important painters of our time and a major figure in the Pop Art movement, Thiebaud revolutionized color with a continuous vision, and as one of the top living realists, his range extends beyond the boundaries of movements and time.

Thiebaud has exhibited extensively nationally and internationally. Major retrospectives include the Pasadena Museum of Art in California, the Phoenix Museum of Art in Arizona, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis in Minnesota and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in California.

Thiebaud also has received numerous honors and awards during his career, including Most Distinguished Studio Art Teacher of the Year from the College Association of America; an honorary Ph.D. from Dickinson college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania; a University of California Davis Faculty Research Lecture Medal; election to the American Academy and Institute of the Arts and Letters, New York City; and the Cyril Magnin Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in the Arts.” (John Natsoulas)

My brother and his wife own several of Thiebaud’s prints, and I have a box of Thiebaud’s notecards, which I refuse to use, as I hate to part with them. John Natsoulas Center for the Arts and Jonathan Novak Contemporary Art both have some beautiful work by Thiebaud available for purchase.

Happy Birthday, Wayne Thiebaud!