Cakes 1963

Wayne Thiebaud painted these Cakes, dimensioned at 152.4 x 182.9 cm, without specifying a particular date. His Pop Art depictions of mass-produced consumer goods offer a striking commentary on American culture. Thiebaud’s high-keyed colours and gestural impasto create a mouth-watering effect that draws the eye to the image’s surface. The repetition of similar objects in neat rows evokes the aesthetics of commercial display. His paintings celebrate, but perhaps also critique, the commodification of everyday life in post-war America. The institutional history of Pop Art is complex. On one hand, it was embraced by museums and galleries, and on the other hand, it was dismissed by some critics as being too commercial. To understand Thiebaud’s work fully, we can delve into sources like contemporary advertising, cookbooks, and social histories of American consumerism. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context, and it is through historical research that we can gain a deeper appreciation of its complexities.