Wayne Thiebaud

Wayne Thiebaud, known for his iconic paintings, is a Pop art painter recognized for his vibrant depictions of everyday objects such as pies, lipsticks, paint cans, ice cream cones, pastries, and hot dogs. Thiebaud focused on parodying commercialism and consumer society, becoming skilled in advertising, cartoons, and marketing illustration.

Biography of Wayne Thiebaud

Wayne Thiebaud was born in 1920 to Mormon parents in Mesa, Arizona, but his family relocated to Long Beach, California, when he was just a baby. Growing up, he developed a deep fascination with comic strips and their illustrations, particularly drawn to the art style rather than the content. Despite showing talent in drawing, pursuing fine art training or a college education seemed unlikely during the economic hardship of the 1930s. Instead, he had to start working at a young age.

During one summer in high school, Thiebaud apprenticed at Walt Disney Pictures Studio, where he worked on characters like Goofy, Pinocchio, and Jiminy Cricket, earning $14 a week — a significant sum for a teenager at the time. This experience would later prove crucial. As the family's financial situation improved, Thiebaud enrolled at San Jose State College in 1949. He then transferred to Sacramento State College, earning his bachelor's degree in 1951, followed by a master's degree in 1952.

In the mid-1950s, Thiebaud moved to New York City with aspirations of becoming an artist. There, he had the opportunity to befriend influential artists like Willem de Kooning and Franz Kline, whose approach to abstraction deeply influenced him and marked a turning point in his artistic journey. Alongside the influences of Kline and de Kooning, Thiebaud drew inspiration from the works of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns.

In New York City, he absorbed a wealth of artistic knowledge. When it seemed there was little left for him in the city, Thiebaud returned to California, eager to explore new subjects and styles. He began experimenting with shapes like triangles, circles, and squares. An opportunity arose for him to open his own gallery space, which he seized eagerly. This venture became the Artists Cooperative Gallery, now known as the Artists Contemporary Gallery.

In 1960, he held his first solo show in San Francisco at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, followed by exhibitions in New York City at the Staempfli and Tanager galleries. This marked Thiebaud's entry into the elite spotlight of the art scene, setting the stage for a significant leap in his career within the next year and a half.

In 1962, Thiebaud's work was featured in the groundbreaking exhibition "New Painting of Common Objects," alongside artists like Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. This exhibition is widely regarded as one of the first Pop Art showcases in America, marking the beginning of a significant modern art movement. Thiebaud garnered attention for his still lifes portraying edible treats and everyday objects in his distinctive illustrative style.

Thiebaud, however, resisted being labeled a Pop artist, preferring to be recognized as a traditional painter of illusionistic form. This stance, coupled with his reluctance to reshape the world's perception of art, led Thiebaud to take a more reserved position, allowing other Pop art figures to take the forefront. The artist's humbleness and lack of desire to dominate the art scene might suggest that Thiebaud's contributions have been somewhat underappreciated. Yet, make no mistake — Wayne Thiebaud is a true legend of American contemporary art.