Wayne, Thiebaud | Country City, 1988 — available on Composition Gallery

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Original aquatint with softground etching and drypoint printed in colors on Somerset Satin wove paper. Trial proof impression, apart from the numbered edition of 60, annotated in pencil lower left. Sheet size: 77.5 x 103.5 cm (30 1/2 x 40 3/4 in) Image size: 55.2 x 80.3 cm (21 3/4 x 31 5/8 in) Frame size: 91.8 x 115.3 x 4.8 cm (36 1/8 x 45 3/8 x 1 7/8 in)

Country City is one of Thiebaud's most celebrated compositions, capturing the dramatic collision of rural landscape and urban geometry that defines the Sacramento region. On the left, a steep brown hillside crowned with pink-red trees drops away vertiginously; on the right, a dense grid of city blocks, rooftops, and facades rises in saturated colour. The aquatint, softground etching, and drypoint technique yields extraordinary textural richness, from the velvety earth tones of the hillside to the crisp architectural lines of the cityscape. This is a major work from the artist's most sought-after period, embodying the exhilarating tension between nature and civilisation that makes his vision so distinctive and enduring.

Wayne Thiebaud (USA, 1920–2021) was a celebrated painter known for his vibrant depictions of everyday objects like cakes, pies, and gumball machines. His textured brushwork and use of bold color captured the charm of Americana. A key figure in American art, Thiebaud bridged Pop Art and realism.

Thiebaud Wayne

Country City, 1988

Name: Country City, 1988
SKU: 17090

Form

Limited Edition Print

Limited Edition PrintA limited edition print is one of a number of prints made at the same time from one printmaking plate. A fixed number are made and signed by the artist, indicating the printing order, using the format 1/10, meaning first of ten prints.

Medium

Mixed Media

Mixed MediaMixed media refers to artwork that incorporates more than one medium within a single piece. Unlike multimedia art, which combines distinct forms of visual art and often includes elements like sound, video, or digital media, mixed media focuses on combining traditional art materials, such as paint, ink, and collage. Mixed media art allows artists to achieve a wide range of effects and textures by layering and blending different materials.

Edition

Edition of 60 + proofs

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Limited Edition Print

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My sin as a painter is that I just want to paint anything I want to paint - and
repaint.

- Wayne Thiebaud

Wayne Thiebaud (b. 1920 USA, d. 2021 USA) was an American painter best known for his vibrant depictions of everyday objects, particularly his iconic paintings of cakes, pies, and other desserts. His work is celebrated for its rich use of color, thickly applied paint, and a keen sense of light and shadow, which give his subjects a three-dimensional, almost tactile quality. Thiebaud's style blends Pop art sensibilities with a deep appreciation for traditional American realism, creating works that are both nostalgic and visually striking. Although often associated with Pop Art due to his focus on consumer goods, Thiebaud's work is distinguished by its emotional depth and subtle commentary on the passage of time and the pleasures of life. His paintings have been widely exhibited in major museums, including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, establishing him as a beloved figure in American art.

Artwork by Andy Warhol

What is pop-art?

Pop Art is an art movement that began in Britain in 1955 and in the late 1950s in the U.S. It challenged traditional fine arts by incorporating imagery from popular culture, such as news, advertising, and comic books. Pop Art often isolates and recontextualizes materials, combining them with unrelated elements. The movement is more about the attitudes and ideas that inspired it than the specific art itself. Pop Art is seen as a reaction against the dominant ideas of Abstract Expressionism, bringing everyday consumer culture into the realm of fine art.

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Thiebaud Wayne

Country City, 1988

77.5 x 103.5 cm

Thiebaud Wayne

Country City, 1988

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