Timeline

1920

Born in Mesa, AZ

1936

Worked briefly in animation department of Walt Disney Studios, Los Angeles, CA

1937

Attends Frank Wiggins Trade School to study commercial art, Los Angeles, CA

1940 - 1941

Attended Long Beach Junior College (now Long Beach City College), Long Beach, CA

1942 - 1945

Served in United States Army Air Force. In the last months of service he is transferred to Air Force Motion Picture Unit, Culver City, CA

1946 - 1949

Worked as layout designer and cartoonist in advertising department for Rexall Drug Copany, Los Angeles, CA
Meets sculptor Robert Mallary, a co-worker at Rexall

1948

Participates in first major museum exhibition, Artists of Los Angeles and Vicinity, Los Angeles County Museum (now Los Angeles County Museum of Art)

1949 - 1950

Attended San Jose State College (now San Jose State University), San Jose, CA

1950 - 1953

Transfered to California State College (now California State University), Sacramento, CA
Received B.A. in 1951
Received MA in 1953 (art major focused on art history, theory and education)

1950 - 1959

Served as an exhibit designer for annual art exhibition of the California State Fair and Exposition, Sacramento, CA

1951 - 1960

Received appointment as instructor of art, Sacramento Junior College (now Sacramento City College). Chairman of Art Department (1954-56, 1958-60)

1951

First solo show, Influences on a Young Painter, E.B. Crocker Art Gallery, Sacramento, CA

1956 - 1957

Took leave of absence from teaching to live in New York, NY
Meets Elaine and Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Barnett Newman, Philip Pearlstein, Milton Resnick, and Harold Rosenberg, among others

1958

Guest instructor in printmaking, California School of Fine Arts (now San Francisco Art Institute), substituting for Nathan Oliveira
Co-founded the Artists Cooperative Gallery (now Artists Contemporary Gallery), Sacramento, CA

1960

Appointed, Assistant Professor, Department of Art, University of California, Davis, CA Subsequently appointed Associate Professor (1963-1967) and Professor (1967 to 1990)
Now serves as professor emeritus

1961

Received University of California Faculty Fellowship enables travel to New York during summer
Met Allan Stone, Allan Stone Gallery New York, NY

1962

Had one person show in New York, Wayne Thiebaud: Recent Paintings, Allan Stone Gallery, New York, NY
Had First one-person museum exhibition in San Francisco, CA
Included in the group exhibition New Realists, Sydney Janis Gallery, New York, NY

1963

Began long association with Kathan Brown of Crown Point Press, Oakland (later moved to San Francisco)

1965

Portfolio of etchings, Delights, published by Crown Point Press, Oakland, CA

1967

Chosen to represent United States in the Sao Paulo Bienal, Brazil

1968

Received commission from Sports Illustrated to Paint Wimbledon Tennis Tournament, England (June issue)

1970

Worked on series of linocuts, Arnera Printshop, Vallauris, France

1971

Theme of San Francisco cityscapes begun

1972

Appointed thirty-first Faculty Research Lecturer, University of California, Davis, CA, and honoured with Golden Apple Award for distinguished teaching at U.C. Davis
Received honourary doctorate, California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA
Established second home in San Francisco, CA

1976

Began weekly drawing sessions in San Francisco with group of Bay Area artists including Mark Adams, Theophilus Brown, Gordon Cook, and Beth Van Hoesen

1981

Received citation from College Art Association of America as Most Distinguished Studio Teacher of the Year (1980-81)

1983

Received honorary doctorate, Dickinson College, Carlisle, P.A. Traveled to Japan to work with traditional Japanese woodblock printers.

1984

Received special recognition award from National Association of Schools of Art and Design

1985

Elected to American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, New York, NY

1986

Elected as Associate of National Academy of Design, New York, NY

1987

Advanced to Academician of the National Academy of Design, New York, NY
Received Cyril Magnin Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in the Arts, on behalf of San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, San Francisco, CA
Received Award of Honor for Distinguished Service in the Arts, San Francisco Arts Commission, San Francisco, CA
Honoree, American Academy of Achievement

1988

Received the prize for Teaching and Scholarly Achievement, University of California, Davis, CA
Received Honorary Doctorate Award from San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
Elected as Fellow to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Boston, MA

1990

Received Distinguished Service Award, California State University, Sacramento, CA

1991

Received the Governor's Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts

1993

Received Grumbacher Gold Medallion Award for Painting from the American Academy of Design, New York, NY
Awarded doctor of arts degree, Art Institute of Southern California, Laguna Beach, CA
Honorary Member: California Society of Printmakers, Berkeley, CA

1994

Received National Medal of Arts from President William Jefferson Clinton

1995

Received Distinguished Artists Achievement Award from the California Society of Printmakers, Berkeley, CA

1996

Received The Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award from the National Arts Club, New York, NY
Received Award of Excellence from the National Park Service for his illustrations in the 1995 edition of the book Yosemite and the Mariposa Grove: A Preliminary Report by Frederick Law Olmstead 1865

1997

Received honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the Art Institute of Boston, and gives commencement address, Boston, MA

2000

Received Medal for Painting from the Skowhegen School of Painting and Sculpture, New York, NY

2001

Received Lifetime Achievement Award for Art from the American Academy of Design, New York, NY

2004

Received nomination for the Gold Medal for Graphic Art from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, NY

2006

Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra honored Thiebaud with, Night Thoughts, written by André Previn, Sacramento, CA

2007

Received Bay Area Treasure Award from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA

2010

Inducted into The California Hall of Fame 2010, The California Museum, Sacramento, CA

Lives and works in Sacramento, CA