I believe very much in the tradition that art comes from art and nothing else.

(Text by Wayne Thiebaud)

You can do art history backwards or forwards; you can take your choice. Progress is not part of it. Variation, yes, and extension and all that, but progress? Phew. I don’t know how you’d beat any of that stuff, even from the cave period.

(Text by Wayne Thiebaud)

Artist Wayne Thiebaud (American, 1920–2021) was a self-described art “thief” who openly appropriated and reinterpreted old and new European and American paintings, believing that art history is a repository of ideas that connects artists of the past, present, and future. Organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (the “Fine Arts Museums”) with generous loans by the Wayne Thiebaud Foundation, the forthcoming Wayne Thiebaud: Art Comes from Art, will be the first exhibition to spotlight the artist’s extensive engagement with art history throughout his six-decade-long career, offering crucial insights into his creative process. Opening on March 22, 2025, at the Legion of Honor, the exhibition will present Thiebaud’s thoughtful reinterpretations of historical and contemporary masterworks—some on public view for the first time—alongside images of the original paintings that served as source material. A series of rare works from the artist's personal art collection, by artists from the past and present who informed Thiebaud’s subjects and signature style, will also be on view.

Wayne Thiebaud is a significant part of the Legion of honor 100, a yearlong centennial celebration of the historic San Francisco landmark museum and its collections. By installing Wayne Thiebaud at the Legion of Honor amid the museum’s permanent collection, the exhibition highlights the history of art that served as a rich resource for Thiebaud.

“As a self-identified ‘thief,’ who mined the work of his predecessors and contemporaries, Wayne Thiebaud’s practice was deeply rooted in his study of art history, but this aspect of his work has never been explored”, said Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. “Over the course of the next year, as we reflect upon the Legion of Honor’s legacy as a center of art historical research and inspiration, Wayne Thiebaud: Art Comes from Art couldn’t be more timely”.

The exhibition will present 60 of Thiebaud’s wide-ranging reinterpretations of old and new European and American artworks, spanning from 1957 to 2020, with multiple paintings inspired by the same artist displayed together. Reference images of the original artworks, and insights provided by Thiebaud about the artists he drew inspiration from, will be presented alongside his works to provide deeper insights into his creative process.

The exhibition also will include a salon-style gallery featuring about 30 of Thiebaud’s copies after other artists, spanning from Rembrandt van Rijn to Édouard Manet to Giorgio Morandi, as well as approximately 40 original artworks spanning from Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres to Henri Matisse to Joan Mitchell, which he acquired for his personal collection. Thiebaud’s copies were largely made from reproductions that offered him inspiration and insights for his paintings, while his art collection enabled him to own and study original works by some of his heroes in real life.

“Wayne Thiebaud’s engagement with art history’s ‘bureau of standards’ through the practice of appropriation and reinterpretation revealed his belief that the world of art transcended limiting definitions of time and place, as well as progress,” said Timothy Anglin Burgard, exhibition curator as well as Distinguished Senior Curator and Ednah Root Curator in Charge of American Art at the Fine Arts Museums. “Viewed from this perspective, the entire global history of art, encompassing every movement and style, was as accessible, relevant, and inspiring to Thiebaud as contemporary art”.

Three significant works from Thiebaud’s personal collection were generously given to the Fine Arts Museums by the Wayne Thiebaud Foundation ahead of the exhibition. Two of these objects—Joan Mitchell’s Untitled (ca. 1957) and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres’s Mrs. Fleetwood Pellew (Harriet Frances Webster) (1817), will be on public view for the first time during Wayne Thiebaud: Art comes from art.

Wayne Thiebaud was born in Mesa, Arizona, raised in Southern California, and spent most of his career in Northern California. He first gained acclaim in 1962 with paintings depicting a colorful and quintessentially American array of bakery, cafeteria, delicatessen cases, and counters garnished with delicious—or dubious—foods. In the ensuing decades, Thiebaud tackled new subjects including figure groups and portraits, tightly arranged cityscapes, expansive landscapes, and poignant performing clowns. His abstract representations of the real world not only upended the art world’s perception of realism, but also challenged viewers to decide whether his perfectly posted subjects were worthy of admiration, criticism, or both.

Thiebaud was an influential and admired art and art history professor at Sacramento Junior College (now Sacramento City College) and later at the University of California, Davis. His legacy as an artist, teacher, and mentor significantly influenced the evolution of American art in the post-WWII decades.