Canyon Clouds [working proof 1]
2019
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
hard ground etching on wove Somerset paper [working proof 1]
Dimensions
plate: 27.6 × 21.5 cm (10 7/8 × 8 7/16 in.) sheet: 40.4 × 32.4 cm (15 7/8 × 12 3/4 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Kathan Brown
Accession Number
2024.132.691
Art Historical Context
Wayne Thiebaud, the celebrated American artist renowned for his vibrant Pop Art depictions of everyday objects like cakes and ice cream, ventured into luminous landscapes later in his career. *Canyon Clouds [working proof 1]* (2019), a hard ground etching on wove Somerset paper, captures this evolution. At nearly 99 years old, Thiebaud created this intimate print—plate size 27.6 × 21.5 cm—evoking the dramatic vistas of canyons and skies, a motif that reflects his lifelong fascination with light, color, and form. As a working proof, this is an early experimental stage in the printmaking proces...
About the Artist
Wayne Thiebaud
Wayne Thiebaud, born Morton Wayne Thiebaud on November 15, 1920, in Mesa, Arizona, grew up in a Mormon family in southern California after his parents relocated there shortly after his birth. His father worked various jobs, including as a Ford mechanic and real estate agent. As a teenager, Thiebaud apprenticed one summer at Walt Disney Studios, drawing in-betweens for characters like Goofy and Pin...