Wyeth Love

Passing Poles. Repairing the Damage From Ice Storm '09.
Photo: Tom Wells.

We have power back, and 28 new power poles, after the great Ice Storm of ought-nine. I turned on my computer after being out-of-touch, and learned about the passing of artist Andrew Wyeth on Friday.

The news and responses to the passing of Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009) have all been posted. "His work has iconic status in the history of American art," was said today in the Philadelphia Inquirer (Wyeth lived in Pennsylvania).

The blog post that does him proudest is this one by Charley Parker. See a recent painting by Wyeth there, instead of the famous one of Christina which the reporters and critics chose to post. Artist bloggers do much better with these things, in my opinion, and Charley shows us how.


"Really, I think one's art goes only as far and as deep as your love goes," 1965, A. Wyeth.



My favorite paintings by A. Wyeth are the Helga series. Not because it was a "scandal", as so many deem it, but because Wyeth had the clarity of mind to do the series without outside interference. He kept the 250 or so works out of public view until he finished them. I feel that the spare qualities that he is known for are portrayed best in these works.

Culture Monster writes about the viral qualities of the Helga pictures.

The Telegraph (U.K.) has a fair article here. I enjoyed "Of Time and Andrew Wyeth", by Christopher Orlet.

For a fine serendipity about the important American artist's passing (and, after all of the elitist invective, I just want to hear artist's views on Wyeth now, thanks) see what Jennifer Phillips in Seattle did in her post Reflecting on Andrew Wyeth.