Levee Farms

Wayne Thiebaud, Levee Farms, 1998, oil on canvas, 48 x 48 in. (121.9 x 121.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Sam Rose and Julie Walters, 2004.30.4

Artwork Details

Title: Levee Farms
Artist: Wayne Thiebaud
Date: 1998
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 48 x 48 in. (121.9 x 121.9 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Sam Rose and Julie Walters
Mediums Description: oil on canvas
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Architecture Exterior — industry — waterwork
Landscape — farm
Landscape — river
Object Number: 2004.30.4
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2004.30.4

Artwork Description

The vantage point of Levee Farms is that of a low-flying bird as it surveys planting fields and a river suffused with the warm light of the California sun. A tour de force of curving lines, gentle color, and subtle shadows describe fields that follow the contours of the river as it flows toward the delta. Here, Thiebaud toyed with perspective--there is no horizon line, for example--and manipulates space to celebrate the confluence of man in harmony with the natural world.