Rosa Fernandez and Susan Larsen
Scope and Contents
The papers of Sacramento painter, printmaker, and teacher Wayne Thiebaud date from 1944 through 2001 and measure one linear foot. Thiebaud's prolific painting career is documented in this collection mostly through exhibition catalogs, printed materials, original artwork, photographs, and ephemera. His career as an art professor at the University of California at Davis is documented to a lesser extent.
Of particular interest in the collection are ten large format sketchbook pages with numerous ink, graphite, and watercolor drawings of his typical imagery of pies, cakes, tie racks, San Francisco street scenes, Sacramento Delta landscapes, many figures, storefronts, counters, and personal notations regarding color, light, and ideas for the transformation of his imagery. There are also ten smaller cartoon drawings in ink on plain copy paper. In addition to several folders of exhibition catalogs, announcements, and other printed material, there is one folder of teaching notes and one folder of photographs, many of which include other artists, such as Chuck Close, Richard Diebenkorn, Richard Estes, Gregory Kondos, Roy Lichtenstein, Barnett Newman, Claes Oldenburg, Philip Pearlstein, Mel Ramos, Harold Rosenberg, and others. Also found are ephemera items, including a collectible watch with his imagery printed onto the face and band, a palette, brushes, and plastic lids from tennis ball containers used for mixing paints.
Language
English
Provenance
Wayne Thiebaud donated his papers in 2001 to the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Processing Information
The collection was processed by Rosa Fernandez in 2002.