Wayne Thiebaud (1920-2021). Standing Couple, 1989. Oil on panel. 10-1/4 x 5-1/2 inches (26.0 x 14.0 cm). Signed on the r...

Description

Wayne Thiebaud (1920-2021)
Standing Couple, 1989
Oil on panel
10-1/4 x 5-1/2 inches (26.0 x 14.0 cm)
Signed on the reverse: Thiebaud
Incised with title on the reverse: Standing / couple

Property from the Estate of Dr. Malcolm McHenry, Sacramento, California
Proceeds to Benefit the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California

PROVENANCE:
The artist;
Russ Solomon, San Francisco, California;
Montgomery Gallery, San Francisco, California;
Acquired by the present owner from the above.

Wayne Thiebaud painted Standing Couple in 1989 when he was 69 years old. Surprisingly, this was only the midpoint of the artist's illustrious career; Thiebaud would continue to paint until age 101 when he passed away on Christmas Day in 2021.

While the couple is anonymous, Thiebaud often used his wife Betty Jean as his model, and perhaps she inspired this intimate scene. According to his gallery, he painted several dancing couples with similar compositions and never revealed the identity of his subjects. With obscured faces and heads bowed, the couple evokes a quiet feeling that invites comparisons to Edward Hopper. Thiebaud echoes the reflective mood of the couple with a mirror-like dance floor that casts back a striated reflection of the woman's blue dress.

A masterful colorist, Thiebaud outlines the painting with bands of rainbow colors repeated in the fabric and flesh. He uses his quintessential palette of yellow, orange, blue, and white to bathe the figures in his distinctive glow. Contrasting shadows in white and burnt orange make the dress and contours of the back melt into a hazy dream. Like Thiebaud's scrumptious pies and cakes, the painting is nostalgic and sweet. It's a touching tribute to the recently departed artist who we fondly remember with the same joyful wistfulness.


More information about Wayne Thiebaud. See also: Thiebaud, Wayne, Thiebaud, Morton Wayne Artist.

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