Cathy's Art Diary

Charming exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery of prints and drawings by Wayne Thiebaud to compliment the main show of his paintings. The focus was a series of 17 prints produced as a book and portfolio called “Delights” mainly of food.   A few of them which had been left in the studio were coloured by Thiebaud. They were delicate works often of the same subjects as the paintings but produced as distinct art works. The show also included some of the plates for the prints. Closed 18 January 2026

Surprising exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery focusing on Wayne Thiebaud. I say surprising because if you only know these calm, pastel images from reproduction you assume they have a smooth finish but, in reality, the objects are almost sculptured in low relief paint. They are more complex that you think. The show included some early pieces which were darker in colour with loose brushwork. The images tend to be of displays of food, often in shop windows, or nostalgic trappings of sweet shops. They have a distinctively American feel even when the objects shown might have come from anywhere. A number of people around me were saying how they had a feel of a Hopper in their sense of nostalgia but also strangely loneliness. I think my favourite was the large picture of cakes and I had to go to the café and indulge after my visit. Closed 18 January 2026 Reviews Guardian Telegraph

Colourful exhibition at White Cube, Mason’s Yard of work by Wayne Thiebaud. Upstairs were delightful still lives of modern subjects in soft pastel colours in a pop art style. I loved the way he sometimes uses the paint to mirror the texture of the object such a round swirls of paint in a picture of doughnuts. I loved “Bakery Case” which showed the cake display in a bakery. Downstairs were more still lives plus some wonderful large landscapes in bright colours. ”Towards 280” was wonderful American cityscape which reminded me of Hopper in its focus on the ordinary. I loved “Y River”   which close up became more abstract with the river creating windows into scenes. I loved the texture of the trees. There were also some striking portraits such as “Green Dress” which pulled you across the room to look at it and “Robed Woman with Letter” where her skin was made up of the same colours as her robe. Closed on 2 July 2017. Reviews Guardian Telegraph Eveni...