On our first morning in Washington D.C., The Mister had to attend graduation practice so I was on my own. I headed down the Mall to the National Gallery; my first stop was the East Wing, which houses the modern and contemporary art collection. It was so relaxing to walk in the cool, quiet building (I was literally
dripping with sweat by the time I reached the museum because of the heat/humidity) and take in the beauty and creativity displayed all around me.
One of my very favorite pieces was this:
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| Wayne Thiebaud, Cakes, 1963 |
by an artist I'd somehow never heard of in all of my Humanities and Art History classes:
Wayne Thiebaud.
In the basement gift shop of the museum there is a wonderful children's section, full of books and kits and all kinds of wonderful things, but one little board book in particular caught my eye:
I recognized it as being by the same artist who painted the cakes and was immediately charmed by the ice cream clowns on the cover. The other paintings inside are equally wonderful, and I was hooked! Over in the adult section of the gift shop, I found this wall calendar,
and I'm looking forward to seeing his art in my kitchen every day next year.
The woman at the cash register noticed my purchases and mentioned that there are a few other Thiebaud works hanging a few blocks away at the National Portrait Gallery. Later that afternoon we visited the
International Spy Museum, which just happens to be across the street from the National Portrait Gallery, so we had to take the time to stop in so I could see more Thiebaud.
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| Wayne Thiebaud, Jackpot Machine, 1962 |
When I came home, I immediately reserved all available books about Thiebaud, and I'm anxiously awaiting them so I can learn more about this artist and his works! Here are a few more of his paintings:
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| Wayne Thiebaud, Eight Lipsticks, 1964 |
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| Wayne Thiebaud, Pies Pies Pies, 1961 |
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| Wayne Thiebaud, 1971 |
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| Wayne Thiebaud, Yellow Dress, 1974 |
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| Wayne Thiebaud, Big Suckers, 1971 |
The subjects of his paintings and the colors just make me happy! I got an Amazon gift card for my birthday last week and I'm seriously considering buying the big thick coffee table-type book all about Thiebaud's works. His iconic paintings were done mostly in the 1960s and 70s, but he's still alive and painting beautiful landscapes today. I look forward to learning more about Wayne Thiebaud.
Very cool! I have never heard of him, but I love his whimsy and use of color. And the subject matters are simple yet instantly recognizable and give the viewer a sense of comfort and a longing to sit on the front porch and drink a lemonade while watching the kids play kick-the-can on the tree-lined street.
ReplyDeleteThanks doll,
The Glamorous Housewife
I love it too - thanks for telling us about him. Who wouldn't want a painting of pies or cakes on their wall??? Beats some boring old still life any old day!
ReplyDeleteI saw a sort of documentary on him on our local PBS station a few years ago and was captivated by his beautiful artwork. This was a lovely post, Heidi, dedicated to an artist that I, too greatly admire.
ReplyDeleteI may have to get a copy of that calendar, also!
Thank you for bringing him to the attention of some who may never have seen his work.
I've never heard of him either, but his work looks so beautiful! I will have to see if my local library has any books about him :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful artist! Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteCute!
ReplyDeleteLove them! My favorite is the lipsticks. My "bff" and I have the same slanty thin tip on our lipsticks. It's supposed to say something about your personality. I think it says we are both always rushing!
ReplyDeleteWe got the kids' counting book as a gift and I've been intrigued since then too. I'd love to hear what you learn!
ReplyDeleteI think you have 'hooked' a lot of 'newbies' with your post! Another beautiful thing about blogland... THANKS HEIDI!!
ReplyDeleteS~
Hi There! I stumbled upon your blog when I was doing some research on Wayne Thiebaud. I love the write up that you did about him, and being an artist, I couldn't resist making a painting in his style, using a photo from your blog as reference. Just wanted to say thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! Thanks. Wayne Thiebaud is one of my favorite artists, as well. I use the 'cakes' painting as my desktop picture and am happy everytime I get on the computer. And, living in DC, I am lucky to get to see his paintings up close often.
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