Wayne Thiebaud
Blue-chip#43
Egon Investment Scores
Liquidity
9/10
How easily works can be bought and sold at auction
Institutional
10/10
Museum collections, biennials, and institutional recognition
Momentum
9/10
Recent price trends, gallery moves, and market buzz
Discovery
1/10
Undervaluation opportunity relative to peer artists
Risk
1/10
Investment risk factors — higher means more volatile
Market Position
Auction Record
$19,135,000
Four Pinball Machines (1962)
Christie's New York, July 2020
- Pricing
- Price Ranges by Medium
- Prints
- Range: $1,400 - $5,500 USD; Examples: Marina Ridge ($3,750), Delights portfolio etchings, woodcuts, lithographs
- Paintings Recent 12 Months
- Notes: Depending on size, subject matter, and period; Range: $50 USD to $19,135,000 USD; Average: $663,644 USD
- Works on Paper Recent 12 Months
- Notes: Prints, etchings, pastels, and drawings; Average: $103,867 USD
- Historical Price Trajectory
Year Notes Total Auction Sales 1997 Based mostly on Bakery Counter sale $2.2 million USD 2000-2002 Whitney retrospective boosted market $1.4-$5 million USD 2007 Allan Stone estate sale included 5 Thiebaud works $19 million USD 2011 Stone heirs held second sale with 18 Thiebauds Substantial 2013 Buyers willing to pay top prices for recent work, not just 1960s pieces — 2019-2021 Market rise unconnected to artist's death; sustained institutional interest — 2020-present Auction record $19.1M; consistent multi-million dollar sales —
- Primary Market
- Notes
- Since Acquavella representation began 2012, market broadened to include works from all periods at premium prices
- Availability
- Limited primary market availability; estate controls releases
- Representation
- Estate represented by Acquavella Galleries (since 2012), Paul Thiebaud Gallery (son's gallery), Berggruen Gallery
- Pricing Strategy
- Contact galleries for current pricing; estate-controlled availability
- Auction History
- Date
- July 2020
- Work
- Four Pinball Machines (1962)
- Notes
- Largest of only four pinball-themed works; previously set artist's record at $8.5 million in 2019
- Price
- $19,135,000 USD
- Auction House
- Christie's New York
- Collector Intelligence
- Major Collectors
- Paul G. Allen (late; collection included Café Cart)Thomas and Doris Amann CollectionsDonald Bren (real estate magnate; owned Four Pinball Machines 1981-1982)Ken Siebel (investment executive; held Four Pinball Machines 1982-2020)Numerous private California collectors
- Collector Demographics
- High-net-worth American collectors, institutional collectors, international buyers (particularly Hong Kong market active)
- Market Characteristics
- Liquidity
- High - over 4,178 auction results recorded; approximately 1,996 artworks offered at auction
- Market Depth
- Very strong across all periods; market now accepts works from all decades (1950s-2020s) at similar price levels
- Collector Base
- International; strong American collectors; major private collections include Paul G. Allen, Thomas and Doris Amann Collections
- Price Stability
- Excellent; consistent growth since 2017; not significantly affected by economic downturns
- Market Positioning
- Top 10 American artists by aggregated sales over past decade
- Institutional Buying
- Active and continuous; major museums acquire regularly
- Annual Transaction Volume
- Estimated 20+ auction lots annually for significant works
- Recent Auction Highlights
Work Date Price Auction House Notes Star Pinball (1962) May 2024 £8.9 million (approximately $11.5 million USD) with fees Christie's New York First Thiebaud pinball machine at auction since 2020 record River Sides November 2024 $2.36 million USD Bonhams Art Auction Week Dominated evening sale roster Candy Counter (1969) May 2023 £11.8 million with fees Sotheby's Reaffirmed enduring appeal during economic challenges Toweling Off (1968) May 2021 £6 million (approximately $8.5 million USD) Christie's Nearly five times estimate; tennis player figure painting Café Cart (2012) 2022 £5.3 million with fees Christie's From Paul G. Allen collection Dessert Table (1996) November (year unspecified) £7.6 million with fees Christie's New York Highest valued 1990s painting on secondary market Two Jackpots (2005) November 2013 £6.3 million ($6.3 million USD) Christie's Set record until 2019; large slot machine painting
Institutional Presence
- Exhibitions
- Recent Exhibitions
- Wayne Thiebaud: Art Comes from Art, Legion of Honor, San Francisco (March-August 2025)
- Wayne Thiebaud: American Still Life, Courtauld Gallery, London (October 2025-January 2026 - first UK museum show)
- Wayne Thiebaud 100, Crocker Art Museum traveling exhibition (2020-2022)
- Wayne Thiebaud: A Retrospective, Acquavella Galleries (2012)
- Museum Collections
- Tier 1 Museums
- Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New YorkWhitney Museum of American Art, New York (major retrospective 2001)Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkSmithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DCSan Francisco Museum of Modern Art (close relationship since 1942)Los Angeles County Museum of ArtArt Institute of ChicagoTate Modern, LondonNational Gallery of Art, Washington DC
- Awards and Recognition
- National Medal of Arts (1994, presented by President Clinton)Lifetime Achievement Award, American Academy of Design (2001)California Hall of Fame inductee (2010)California Art Award (2013)
Career & Biography
- Career
- 1962
- Breakthrough exhibition at Allan Stone Gallery, New York
- 1938-1949
- Cartoonist and commercial artist in California and New York
- 1942-1945
- First Motion Picture Unit, US Army Air Forces
- 1951-1960
- Art instructor, Sacramento City College (chairman 1954-56, 1958-1960)
- 1960-1990
- UC Davis Art Department (Professor Emeritus until 2021)
- Identity
- Family
- First Wife
- Patricia Patterson (married 1943, had daughter Twinka Thiebaud)
- Second Wife
- Betty Jean Carr (filmmaker, had son Paul LeBaron Thiebaud, adopted son Matthew)
- Death Place
- Sacramento, California
- Age at Death
- 101
- Artistic Context
- Key Influences
- Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Giorgio Morandi, Edward Hopper, Abstract Expressionism, Bay Area Figurative movement
Artistic Profile
- Style
- Color
- Exaggerated, saturated colors with characteristic haloed shadows
- Subjects
- American consumer objects: cakes, pies, gumball machines, pinball machines
- Technique
- Heavy impasto applied with palette knife, like frosting a cake
- Composition
- Isolated objects against neutral backgrounds, serial arrangements
- Influences
- Giorgio Morandi (still life), Edward Hopper (American subjects), Willem de Kooning (painterly approach), commercial art background
- Movements and Periods
- Legacy
- Influenced generation of UC Davis students including Bruce Nauman, Fritz Scholder, Mel Ramos
- Early 1950s
- Abstract Expressionist influence, landscapes and figures
- Late Career
- Continued exploration across all subjects, clown series
- 1970s Expansion
- San Francisco cityscapes, steep perspective views
- 1990s Landscapes
- Sacramento River Delta aerial views
- 1960s Breakthrough
- Food paintings and consumer objects establish reputation
Critical Reception
- Critical Reception
- Key Critics
- Max Kozloff (strongest early supporter)Thomas Hess (Art News editor)Brian O'Doherty (New York Times)Irving Sandler (New York Post)Donald Judd (Arts magazine)Walter Hopps (Artforum, September 1962)
- Critical Consensus
- Early Reception
- Initially categorized with Pop Art but distinguished by painterly approach
- Mature Assessment
- Recognized as independent master, compared to Morandi
- Scholarly Attention
- Subject of numerous academic studies and monographs
- International Recognition
- First UK museum show in 2025 demonstrates growing global appreciation
- Art Historical Position
- Bridge between Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art, uniquely American voice in still life tradition
Gallery & Representation
- Representation
- Current
- Acquavella Galleries, New York (since 2011 - represents estate)
- Historical
- Allan Stone Gallery, New York (1962-2006, 44-year relationship)
- Transition
- After Allan Stone's death (2006) and son Paul's death (2010), Acquavella took over primary representation
- Family Gallery
- Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco (son's gallery, continues operations)
- Estate Management
- Wayne Thiebaud Foundation manages legacy and authentication
- Market Positioning
- Blue-chip representation with Tier 1 gallery infrastructure
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