San Francisco’s Legion of Honor Museum show on the art of the late Wayne Thiebaud (1920-2021) is fascinating, enlightening, and eye-opening. This California artist is mainly known for colorful paintings of commonplace objects, like his well-known images of desserts, lipsticks, paint cans, and hot dogs, as well as his landscapes and figure paintings. He is often characterized as an early and influential Pop artist, but his technique was more like abstract realism. Thiebaud favored heavy pigments and high-gloss colors with a touch of advertising techniques thrown in.
The exhibit, subtitled “Art Comes from Art,” creatively curated by Timothy Anglin Burgard, explores all aspects of Thiebaud’s oeuvre. It is a retrospective, but it is much, much more. The show includes 65 impressive images by Thiebaud as well as 30 copies Thiebaud painted (copied) after artists he admired — from Rembrandt to Seurat to Diebenkorn. A bonus is the 37 original pieces by other painters Thiebaud collected over his lifetime. It’s an idiosyncratic group that includes Franz Kline, Paul Cézanne, Willem de Kooning, Franz Hals, and Henri La Tour.
Wayne Thiebaud first worked as a cartoonist and illustrator for Disney while in the Army Air Force. However, for most of his career (30 years through 1991), he was a professor of art at the University of California, Davis, where he influenced generations of art students. And his love of teaching is evident in this exhibit, especially in the copies of other artists’ works that Thiebaud experimented with while studying their styles. And you can see his immense talent in the creative copies of those works. My favorite is Thiebaud’s “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (after Georges Seurat) 2000.”
“A Sunday on La Grande Jatte” (after Georges Seurat), 2000
But the highlight of the exhibition is the 65 Wayne Thiebaud works, from the dramatic, socially conscience “Electric Chair” (1957) to the poignant portrait “One-Hundred-Year-Old Clown” (2020), completed after the death of his son Paul and his wife, Betty Jean.
“Display Cakes,” 1963
Many of the recognizable iconic images are included in the show, like “Three [gumball] Machines” (1963), “Display Cakes” (1963), and “35 Cent Masterworks” (1970-1972). Seeing these works in person makes one appreciate the artist’s painterly techniques, such as the vivid pigments, heavy brushstrokes, and shadowing around the objects.
“Betty Jean Thiebaud and Book,” 1965-1969
Thiebaud’s portraits and paintings of figures are not as well-known as they should be, like “Betty Jean Thiebaud and Book” (1965-1969). The artist’s wife and frequent portrait subject is staring enigmatically á la the “Mona Lisa.” Looking closely, one can see that she is looking at an art book of other people reading books. Thiebaud had a clever sense of humor and didn’t take himself too seriously.
A new documentary produced in connection with the exhibition is a “must-see.” It explores Thiebaud’s artistic philosophy through three central lessons: his reinterpretations, multilayered engagement with art history, and long-lasting impact as a teacher.
The Legion of Honor Museum (part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco) has an extensive collection of ancient, European, decorative, and sculpture, including its well-regarded Rodin galleries. The inspiring Beaux Art–style building, designed by George Applegarth and built as a replica of Paris’ Legion d’Honneur, is 100 years old. Located majestically on a bluff in Lincoln Park overlooking the Golden Gate and the Pacific Ocean, it’s one of the finest sights in San Francisco.
By Emily S. Mendel
emilymendel@gmail.com
© Emily S. Mendel 2025 All Rights Reserved
