Wayne Thiebaud (1920–2021)
1961
Oil on canvas
Painting pies set Wayne Thiebaud on a new artistic path. In the early 1960s, he produced several closely related versions of this breakthrough composition, drawing on his memories of working in restaurants. The simplicity of the shapes – rows of circles and triangles – reminded him of Paul Cézanne’s claim that authentic painting should be built from basic forms. Thiebaud’s paintings of pies were standout works in his highly successful debut exhibition at the Allan Stone Gallery in New York in 1962. It presented a rich display of some 46 paintings, hung in stacked groups, most of which were bought by prominent collectors and major museums.