Iconic American Painter Thiebaud Passes Away Decades After Disney Start
Long Beach native, Wayne Thiebaud spent his lifetime dedicated to art with an emphasis on cityscapes and still-life popping with color. Decades ago, Thiebaud spent a few moments working as an apprentice at Walt Disney Animation studios, brinigng life to the man himself, Mickey Mouse. The legendary artist passed away on Christmas Day at the age of 101, according to his studio Acquavella Galleries.
Image Credit: @acquavellagalleries/Instagram; Photo by Max Whittaker, 2020
“It is with great sadness that we mark the passing of a truly remarkable man, Wayne Thiebaud. An American icon, Wayne led his life with passion and determination, inspired by his love for teaching, tennis, and above all, making art. Even at 101 years old, he still spent most days in the studio, driven by, as he described with his characteristic humility, “this almost neurotic fixation of trying to learn to paint,” the studio commented on an Instagram post.
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A Brief Start for Thiebaud at Disney
Born Nov. 15, 1920 in Mesa, Arizona, Thiebaud began his working career as a paper boy and later developed a high school fascination with theatrical set painting. In the summer of 1936, Thiebaud found himself working as a summer apprentice in the Walt Disney Studios animation department.
“At 16, Thiebaud took a summer apprenticeship in the animation department of Walt Disney Studios. Here he drew thousands of individual frames of characters such as Goofy, Pinocchio, and Jiminy Cricket. The frames, which when shown in quick succession would give the impression of movement, were known as ‘in-betweens’,” according to a Thiebaud’s biography on The Art Story.
According to a Crocker Art Museum article, Thiebaud’s time there ended abruptly, finding himself fired after three months due to “participating in union activities.”
Image Credit: RICH POLK/GETTY IMAGES FOR LEONARDO DICAPRIO FOUNDATION
Thiebaud’s Time in World War Two
After that, Thiebaud went Frank Wiggins Trade School, where he studied commercial art and illustration, before he served in the Army Air Force.
“From 1942 to 1945, he served in the Army Air Force, assigned to the Special Services Department as an artist and cartoonist, and he was ultimately transferred to the First Air Force Motion Picture Unit, commanded by future president Ronald Reagan. During the war, he met his first wife Patricia Patterson, with whom he had two daughters. The first, Twinka, was born in 1945 and the second, Mallary Ann, in 1951,” according to the The Art Story biography.
Image Credit: Art © Wayne Thiebaud / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY; @acquavellagalleries/Instagram
After the war, Thiebaud found inspiration in the bright colors now associated Pop Art movement, though he did not consider himself part of it. His images of ice cream cones and pies lined up in store windows found inspiration from his early days delivering papers in Southern California. He also painted incredible landscapes for which he will long be remembered for.
Feautre Image Credit: RICH POLK/GETTY IMAGES FOR LEONARDO DICAPRIO FOUNDATION
