Treasures at the Smithsonian American Art Museum


Wayne Thiebaud. Levee Farms. 1996.


The Smithsonian American Art Museum is a treasure and for us, a great find. We couldn't find much information about it ahead of time. Turns out it was closed for six years for renovation which is why it seems to have fallen off our radar screen.

This painting is one of many wonders in their 20th century collection. My daughter took a picture of Joan Mitchell's Sunflowers painting for her cell phone screen saver. They also have a good collection of paintings from the Hudson River school and a nice room with Albert Ryder paintings.

I was intrigued by this recent aerial landscape by Wayne Thiebaud.

I'm working on a large aerial landscape of the Similkameen Valley in north central Washington right now and was interested to see Thiebaud's approach. His paintings of pastries, ice cream and other wondrous treats are well known. Personally I feel there aren't nearly enough cupcake paintings in the world. I love his work.

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