The Art of Food – Part 1

Wayne Thiebaud, Four Cupcakes, 1971

When I began to do some work on this post, my intention was to tell you about an artist whose works I first saw at the Laguna Beach Art Gallery back in 2007. However as I did some Googling to pull up some of his prints, I stumbled across another artist who was amazing. And then I remembered another artist who had painted similar subjects that I admired. And so, it went from there. This is the first part of a mini series on artists that I admire who paint high tea related food as still life subjects  (that was a mouthful!).

Wayne Thiebaud, Cakes, 1963

I am an art lover. I am the one who will go to the Art Gallery in whatever city I’m in just to check it out. And yes, that includes the high profile art galleries like The Met and MOMA in New York, and the Louvre in Paris, but it also include art galleries that are less well known. Basically, if there’s an art gallery in a city I’m visiting I will make a visit (anyone who has travelled with me will attest to this). Which is how I ended up at the Laguna Beach Art Gallery in Laguna Beach, California a couple of years ago.

Wayne Thiebaud, Neapolitan Merigue, 1986/1999

Wayne Thiebaud is an American artist who was born in 1920 in Arizona, USA. He is probably most well known for his paintings of cakes and similar objects, but also painted landscapes and other subjects. I love Thiebaud’s use of colour. That is probably the first thing that attracted me to his works. The subjects are idealized and simplified. Many people have in fact referred to Thiebaud’s work as ‘pop art’ (the same genre of Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol). I’m not sure if I would agree, but I’m no art historian. For more of a history on Wayne Thiebaud, click here.

I include a few of my favourite paintings by Thiebaud, they have in fact inspired my baking plans for this weekend. Will let you know how that all goes.

H xo