Ten years ago, the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine mounted an exhibition of the work of four great American artists:
Turn-of-the-century illustrator Howard Pyle
His student: N. C. Wyeth
N. C.’s student and son: Andrew Wyeth
Andrew’s student and son: Jamie Wyeth
The thread that binds the four together is what the show’s catalog called “an imaginative, often disquieting, dreamlike imagery.”
“Wondrous strange,” is the way Betsy James Wyeth, Andrew’s wife and Jamie’s mother, described these works and the artists' relationship to each other.
Perfect for Halloween is how I describe them. Judge for yourself.
“Automaton,” by Jamie Wyeth. Oil on canvas, 29.25” x 34.5”, 1979.
“Pumpkinhead Visits the Lighthouse,” by Jamie Wyeth. Combined mediums, 24" x 18", 2000.
“Mischief Night,” by Jamie Wyeth. Mixed media on paper, 22.5” x 31”, 1986.
To fully understand just how wondrous strange is the Wyeth family, delve into their biographies: "N. C. Wyeth" by David Michaelis and "Andrew Wyeth: A Secret Life" by Richard Meryman. To see more of Jamie Wyeth’s work check out artnet, which offers catalogues of artist’s work free to the public as an educational resource online.
Who is on the cover of Wondrous Strange?
Posted by: David C. Dehm | Tuesday, March 09, 2010 at 04:42 PM