Sacramento artist Thiebaud’s ‘Blueberry Custard’ fetches $3.225 million at auction

Sacramento painter Wayne Thiebaud had a second painting sell for multimillions as his 1961 “Blueberry Custard” piece sold for $3.225 million at Heritage Auctions Modern & Contemporary Art Auction in Beverly Hills on Nov. 20.

The 18-by-24-inch oil painting depicts slices of blueberry and custard on two shelves, which was described in the auction as “a classic Wayne Thiebaud in subject and composition.” The painting was one of 16 lots that came from the collection of Tower Records founder Russ Solomon. The total collection sold for over $5.1 million.

The piece was estimated to sell for $2.5 million before the auction, according to Heritage representatives, bringing in 29 percent more than expected.

One of Thiebaud’s other pieces, “Enclosed Cakes,” sold Nov. 14 for $8.46 million at an auction in New York, which was a record price for the artist.

The next best-selling piece was Robert Arneson’s 1991 “Poised to Infinity,” which sold for $143,750, double the lowest estimated cost.

The auction comes toward the end of a whirlwind month for Thiebauld, who recently celebrated his 99th birthday, had a retrospective gallery opening at Davis’ Natsoulas Gallery and will have an exhibition on his influence open at UC Davis in January of 2021.

This article was updated at 8:43 a.m. on Dec. 6 to clarify the UC Davis exhibition is in 2021.

This story was originally published November 29, 2019 at 4:46 PM.