Wayne Thiebaud: A Radical Realism

This book examines the extraordinary career of Wayne Thiebaud (1920–2021) and highlights his iconic representations of everyday scenes. Renowned for his vibrant portrayals of commonplace objects—dessert pastries, bow ties, paint cans, and hot dogs—as well as his figure studies and landscapes, Thiebaud is reexamined through the lens of his lifelong engagement with historical and contemporary art movements, as well as his California surroundings.

The radical realism of Thiebaud treats its subjects—isolated still life objects, decontextualized people, and skewed landscapes—unnaturally, keeping them familiar but disturbingly distorted. Essays offer fresh perspectives on how Thiebaud’s work infuses familiar scenes with both humor and depth, while capturing the dramatic spirit of the region.