American as Apple Pie

Cakes and pies stand in neat rows behind the glass counter at the bakery. Creamy frosting and thick filling make viewers’ mouths water. In paintings like his 1995 Cakes and Pies, cover, Wayne Thiebaud (TEE-boh) excels at delighting the senses and making stomachs growl. Still working at age 98, the artist has spent his career exploring the American way of life.

Looking at a painting by Wayne Thiebaud (TEE-bow) might make your stomach growl. The desserts in his 1995 work Cakes and Pies, cover, look delicious. The artist explores subjects that are part of American life, from classic bakery treats to city streets. He is still working at 98 years old!

Thiebaud began painting to learn about the fundamentals of composition and form. Composition is the arrangement of objects within a work plus the choices the artist makes about how to render them. Thiebaud chose food as a subject because many foods are simple three-dimensional forms. He used still lifes to study composition, experimenting with color, light, space, perspective, and texture. In his 1963 Pie Counter, below, the artist paints the triangular slices with cool shadows. The lush brushstrokes mimic the texture of frosting and whipped cream.

Thiebaud didn’t expect anyone to take these paintings seriously as fine art, and he was surprised when they did. “When I painted the first row of pies, I can remember sitting and laughing . . . ‘Now I have flipped out!’” the artist recalls.

Thiebaud began painting to learn about composition and form. Composition is how objects are arranged in an artwork and how the artist shows them. Thiebaud often features foods in his work because food usually comes in simple shapes. He uses these shapes to experiment with parts of composition, like texture. His 1963 painting Pie Counter, below, is a still life, a work showing an arrangement of objects. He paints rows of triangular slices. Then he uses thick brushstrokes to re-create the texture of frosting.

Thiebaud was surprised when people considered his paintings like this one to be fine art. “When I painted the first row of pies, I can remember sitting and laughing . . . ‘Now I have flipped out!’” the artist says.

By mastering the basics of form and perspective in works like Pie Counter, Thiebaud developed the skills he needed to challenge the rules of composition. Late in his career, the artist created many paintings of San Francisco, including his 2001 San Francisco West Side Ridge, below. The artist disrupts traditional perspective to capture the city’s perilously steep streets and geometric buildings. Thiebaud’s background in cartooning helped him learn how to render scenes simply and effectively. His dedication to the fundamentals of art gives him the skills necessary to bend the rules while still creating plausible compositions like this one.

To many people, Thiebaud is a quintessential 20th-century artist. From the delicious foods that appear in bakeries across the country to dramatic cityscapes, Thiebaud’s bright, colorful paintings capture aspects of everyday American life.

Making works like Pie Counter helped Thiebaud learn enough skills to challenge the rules of composition. For example, his 2001 work San Francisco West Side Ridge, below, breaks the rules of perspective (the way space is shown in an artwork). Thiebaud paints extremely steep streets and geometric buildings. He exaggerates the city’s appearance.

Many people consider Thiebaud a classic 20th-century artist. His colorful artworks showing delicious foods or lively cities capture the American way of life.