Andrew Wyeth

Wyeth's Influence
Family Ties
American Master
Why Dr. Lori should appraise your Wyeth artwork?
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Wyeth's Influence

It’s safe to say that Andrew Wyeth is one of America’s treasures. His artwork and impact on the history of art rank the Chadds Ford, PA artist with other esteemed American masters such as Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, and Edward Hopper. 

Wyeth’s art has inspired numerous contemporary artists to remain committed to the American realist movement. Wyeth’s influence in the work of some of today’s most important contemporary artists from Jamie Wyeth to Bo Bartlett is obvious. In addition, Wyeth’s artwork has captured the scholarly interest of curators and art historians on the international stage as he aptly and lovingly documents the American scene. 

Family Ties

Born in 1917, Andrew Wyeth’s family background reflects on the art notion of the “art gene”. This is a somewhat well known belief within art circles that fine art talent actually runs in families. Andrew Wyeth’s father, who suffered an untimely death, was famed American illustrator, N.C. Wyeth. And Andrew Wyeth’s son, Jamie, is a highly accomplished and revered figure in contemporary American painting circles. Of course, the Wyeth story is also told through works of art on display in museums and collections worldwide.

Following the great success of the popular exhibition of Wyeth’s tempera paintings, watercolors, and drawings entitled Andrew Wyeth: Memory and Magic at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2006, we reflect on Wyeth’s historic works including American scene images such as Public Sale, Groundhog Day, and Christina’s World as well as his ultra-famous Helga paintings, an extensive series of captivating portraits. 

Recently, Andrew Wyeth and his wife, Betsy gifted a suite of drawings to the Philadelphia Museum of Art which directly relate to the tempera on masonite painting already in the museum’s collection called Groundhog Day from 1959. For artists, students, and scholars, this compilation provides the unique opportunity to study the artist’s process. 

American Master

While Andrew Wyeth is an artist’s artist, he is also an artist for the American people. I find it fascinating when audience members at my American Art History lectures mention, when Wyeth’s works are discussed, that one does not have to be an art connoisseur to appreciate the work of Andrew Wyeth. What’s more, most art connoisseurs are equally captivated by the work of Andrew Wyeth. Even Charles Schultz’s Peanuts character and seasoned art collector, Snoopy, had an Andrew Wyeth painting on display in one installment of the popular comic strip. 

Andrew Wyeth said, “I paint things that reflect the basic truths of life: sky, earth, friends, the intimate things...” For the rest of us, Andrew Wyeth has produced numerous artistic mainstays of 20th Century painting, thus providing the world of onlookers with our era’s timeless American imagery. 

Dr. Lori
Director, Masterpiece Technologies Inc.