San Francisco West Side Ridge

Wayne Thiebaud, San Francisco West Side Ridge, 2001, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Sam Rose and Julie Walters, 2004.30.5
Wayne Thiebaud, San Francisco West Side Ridge, 2001, oil on canvas, 3636 in. (91.491.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Sam Rose and Julie Walters, 2004.30.5

Artwork Details

Title
San Francisco West Side Ridge
Date
2001
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
3636 in. (91.491.4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Sam Rose and Julie Walters
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Cityscape — street
  • Cityscape — bird’s eye view
  • Cityscape — California — San Francisco
  • Architecture Exterior — commercial
Object Number
2004.30.5

Artwork Description

Wayne Thiebaud was fascinated by the dramatic vistas and abrupt disjunctions of the San Francisco landscape. Denying the laws of normal perspective, San Francisco West Side Ridge is a commotion of rectangles, horizontals, and diagonals that thrust downward and obliquely to destabilize streets and urban buildings. Parked vehicles seem pinned to vertical curbs; turrets, palm trees, and a tiny figure on a balcony confirm life at the top of the precipice; and shadows cast by street lamps point like arrows to the dramatic drop-off at the right.

Works by this artist (1036 items)

William H. Johnson, For India and China, ca. 1944-1945, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.662
For India and China
Dateca. 1944-1945
oil on paperboard
On view
William H. Johnson, Self-Portrait, ca. 1923-1926, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.679
Self-Portrait
Dateca. 1923-1926
oil on canvas
On view
William H. Johnson, Mountain Blossoms, Volda, ca. 1936-1937, oil on burlap, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.899
Mountain Blossoms, Volda
Dateca. 1936-1937
oil on burlap
On view
William H. Johnson, Little Sweet, 1944, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.1076
Little Sweet
Date1944
oil on paperboard
On view