Andrew Wyeth

Andrew Wyeth was born July 12, 1917 in Chadds Ford Township, PA on the 100th anniversary of Henry David Thoreau's birth. He was a widely celebrated American artist who specialized in realist watercolor and tempera paintings of people and landscapes. The artist's father, N.C. Wyeth, who was an artist himself gave him art lessons as a child and inspired his son's love of rural landscapes, his sense of romance, and artistic traditions. He studied art history on his own and admired the Renaissance masters and American painting, particularly Winslow Homer. He appreciated the poetry of Robert Frost and the writings of Henry David Thoreau. A major influence was King Vidor's film The Big Parade from 1925. Wyeth believed it had the greatest influence on his work. His brother-in-law, Peter Hurd, taught him to use egg tempera. Wyeth married Betsy James in 1940. Betsy had an influence on Andrew as strong as that of his father. She managed his career and was a powerful influence on his work. In 1945, Wyeth's father and young nephew were killed when their car stalled on railroad tracks and was struck by a train. The artist referred to his father's death as a formative emotional event in his artistic career, in addition to being a personal tragedy. Shortly thereafter, Wyeth developed his mature style. His tempera painting from 1948, Christina's World, is one of the best known images in 20th century American art. Wyeth's favorite subjects were the land and the people around him. Wyeth has been classified as a realist painter but he thought of himself as an abstractionist. He is known for the Helga Pictures which were exhibited at the National Gallery of Art in 1987 with great controversy. Wyeth's work is held in major museums throughout the world. He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1988 and the National Medal of Arts in 2007. He was the recipient of numerous honorary degrees. Wyeth died in his sleep on January 16, 2009 after a brief illness. He was 91 years old.