Wayne Thiebaud

Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco
Acquired by the present owner from the above

This work is in very good condition overall. The surface is clean, the colors are vibrant, and the canvas is well stretched. There is an unobtrusive spot accretion located 3/8 of an inch from the right edge and 4 ¼ inches from the bottom edge which appears adhered to the paint, presumably during the drying process. Under UV light inspection, there is no evidence of restoration. Framed.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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Two Hot Dogs, by Wayne Thiebaud renders the distinctly American and banal subject, in a manner that is quintessentially Thiebaud. It is deceptively fatuous; as it draws its source from an iconic American food consumed at baseball games, picnics and fairgrounds, and as such, is weighted with positive psychological connotations. The composition of Two Hot Dogs addresses the artist's lifetime concern with structural composition and more notably, with light. Painters have long achieved the rendering of light through gradual applications of chromatic and tonal coloration. Thiebaud's literality extends beyond his subjects as he shrewdly obtains the effect of light by painting his subject against a stark white background. The clinical white hue recalls the reflective glow of a light cast on a stainless steel surface. A subject revisited from the 1964 Hot Dog, which in its representation of a solitary hot dog, possess the same formalist concerns addressed in the present work. A corollary to Thiebaud's preoccupation with color and all of its nuances; are Thiebaud's shadows.  They are generally blue, (as visible in the 1964 painting as well), and the shadows serve to extend the depth in addition to the diagonal placement, rather than the frontal perspective rendered in the 1964 antecedent. The chosen imagery, calculated placement and rich handling make Two Hot Dogs an appetizing example of Thiebaud's commitment to realist painting and to the canon of Pop Art.