Legion of Honor, March 22–August 17, 2025

The first exhibition to highlight Thiebaud’s extensive reinterpretations of works by his artistic heroes

Works from the artist’s personal collection, including two recently gifted by the Wayne Thiebaud Foundation, on view for the first time

“I believe very much in the tradition that art comes from art and nothing else.” —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.” —Wayne Thiebaud

SAN FRANCISCO, September 25, 2024 — 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 65 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 28 of Thiebaud’s copies after other artists, spanning from Rembrandt van Rijn to Édouard Manet to Giorgio Morandi, as well as approximately 37 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.

About the Artist

 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. 

About Legion of Honor 100

Presenting the artist’s personal interpretations of historical works, Wayne Thiebaud: Art Comes from Art, is an essential part of the Legion of Honor 100 celebration that references the permanent collection on view at the museum. The Legion of Honor 100 is a once-in-a-generation series of festivities commemorating the 1924 founding of the San Francisco institution. Commencing November 2024, the Legion of Honor 100 will continue for the next 12 months to highlight the unique histories, rich collections, and future aspirations of the Legion of Honor. Dedicated museum supporters and new audiences alike are invited to imagine the institution’s future, and how they might take part in it, through a series of exhibitions and public programs, as well as contribute to the museum’s future and art on view through an ambitious gifts-of-art and endowment fundraising campaign.

Exhibition Organization

Wayne Thiebaud: Art Comes from Art is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Timothy Anglin Burgard, Distinguished Senior Curator and Ednah Root Curator in Charge of American Art, is the curator for the exhibition. 

This exhibition is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and made possible due to exceptionally generous support from Bernard and Barbro Osher. Presenting sponsors include John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn. Lead sponsors include the Wayne Thiebaud Foundation and Diane B. Wilsey. Major support comes from the Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund and Jason Moment and Honora Kerr. Significant support comes from Lorna Meyer Calas and Dennis Calas; Tim and Melissa Draper; Cheryl Frank and Michael Linn; Margaret and Will Hearst and Deedee McMurtry. Generous support is provided by Robert H. Beadle, Christie’s, Maurice W. Gregg, Debbie and Blake Jorgensen, Christine and Pierre Lamond, Jeffrey and Vivian Saper, Dorothy Saxe, Mary Beth and David Shimmon, Trine Sorensen and Michael Jacobson, and Lisa and Jim Zanze. Additional support is provided by Brigid S. Barton, Sandra Bessières, Gay-Lynn and Robert Blanding, The Hoefer Family, Adrienne and Stephen Horn, Leslie and George Hume, J. Stoner Lichty, Jr and Deborah and Kenneth Novack.

About the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, comprising the de Young in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, are the largest public arts institutions in San Francisco.

The Legion of Honor was modeled after the neoclassical Palais de la Légion d’Honneur in Paris. The museum, designed by George Applegarth, opened in 1924 on a bluff in Lincoln Park overlooking the Golden Gate. It offers unique insight into the art historical, political, and social movements of the previous 6,000 years of human history, with holdings including ancient art from the Mediterranean basin; European painting, sculpture, and decorative arts; and the largest collection of works on paper in the American West.

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco occupy unceded land of the Ramaytush Ohlone, who are the original inhabitants of what is now the San Francisco Peninsula. The greater Bay Area is also the ancestral territory of other Ohlone peoples, as well as the Miwok, Yokuts, and Patwin.

We acknowledge, recognize, and honor the Indigenous ancestors, elders, and descendants whose nations and communities have lived in the Bay Area over many generations and continue to do so today. We respect the enduring relationships that exist between Indigenous peoples and their homelands. We are committed to partnering with Indigenous communities to raise awareness of their legacy and engage with the history of the region, the impacts of genocide, and the dynamics of settler colonialism that persist.

Lincoln Park, where the Legion of Honor was founded in 1924, operated as City Cemetery from 1868 until 1898. When the park was created, many of the burials were relocated but the majority were not. Please join the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in honoring the memory of the thousands of individuals still buried on this land.

Catalogue

The exhibition will be accompanied by a full-color catalogue with four scholarly essays, copublished by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and University of California Press.

Media Contact

Greta Gordon, Communications Manager, ggordon@famsf.org