Friday, October 27, 2017

The Self-Portraits of Vincent Van Gogh

19th Century Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh is one of the most well known painters who has ever lived, he created hundreds of works of art that continue to impress people over a hundred years after his death.

Among his many works Van Gogh was known for his many self portraits, the majority of them were painted in less than a five year period and portray the artist in a variety of ways.  He drew and painted at least 43 self-portraits in less between 1885-1890. 

Lets compare and contrast several of them and see what we can learn about Van Gogh from how he saw and painted himself.



Self-Portrait of the Artist, Vincent Van Gogh, 1887, Art Institute of Chicago



The above painting from the Art Institute of Chicago shows the painters new interest in Impressionism. Van Gogh was born in 1853 in the Netherlands and had moved to Paris to live with his brother Theo in March of 1886.  While there he was introduced to many Impressionist painters and was influenced by both their vibrant colors and their loose brushstrokes of paint.  Before moving to Paris Van Gogh used a darker and more traditional palette. Here he is experimenting with new colors and painting methods.



Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat, October 1887, Vincent Van Gogh, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

The Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat was painted in Paris at a time when Van Gogh is experimenting with new colors and techniques and has had quite a bit of influence from the Impressionist movement.

Through his many self portraits we have a good idea of his physical appearance, Van Gogh had red hair and blue eyes and he wore a beard most of the time.  He had a rather thin face, making him appear older than his mid-30's, he had deep set eyes and a long, straight nose.  He usually has a look of intense concentration, perhaps as he is both the model and artist in these works and needed to concentrate.  Smiling in a portrait didn't come into fashion until the early 20th century as it wouldn't have been possible to hold the pose of a smile, either as a model for a painting or for one of the earlier and much slower photographic methods.
 

From 1887-1889 he painted the majority of self portraits, most of them while he was living in Paris.  He painted his Self-Portrait at the Easel  while in Paris before moving to Arles, it is thought to be his final painting from his time in Paris.



Self -Portrait Dedicated to Gaugin, (Also called Worshipper of the Eternal Buddha)
Vincent Van Gogh, Spring 1888, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard

Influenced by Japanese prints, Van Gogh painted his Self -Portrait Dedicated to Gaugin in Arles in the spring of 1888 shortly after he moved there and then sent it to Paul Gauguin.  Van Gogh wanted to create an artist's community in Arles and very much wanted Gauguin to move there and live with him.  Van Gogh was constantly inspired by the colors in the South of France, he named the house he lived in "The Yellow House" and painted every day.

Gauguin did move to Arles in October of 1888 and lived in the "Yellow House" with Van Gogh for three months.  While they did enjoy painting together and influenced each other's work, they also quarreled frequently.  Their last quarrel led to Van Gogh cutting off part of his ear and needing to be hospitalized, at that point Gauguin left Arles.



Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, Vincent Van Gogh, January 1889, The Courtauld Gallery, London


After he cut off his ear in a fit of madness he was hospitalized, he painted this shortly after his release in early January when he returned to the Yellow House in Arles.  The influence of Japanese prints continues in the background.  Though there are other portraits of him without his beard, it was rare for him to paint himself beardless.

His painting himself while injured and bandaged shows how the artist was trying to understand why he had done such a thing rather than shying away from it.  It is commonly thought that Van Gogh was suffering from a form of mental illness, though at that time no one knew what it was exactly.  Van Gogh himself really wanted to understand his motivations and a few months later voluntarily checked himself into an asylum.



Self-Portrait of the Artist, Vincent Van Gogh, September 1889, Musée d'Orsay, Paris


Musée d'Orsay has one of Van Gogh's later portraits (pictured above) that he painted during the time that he lived in the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Remy.  He lived there for a year, from May 1889 to May 1890.  This was also the time when Van Gogh painted this famous work, The Starry Night.

During the same month he painted this self-portrait he wrote the following in a letter to his brother, Theo-

        “It is difficult to know oneself, but it isn’t easy to paint oneself either."

This is one of my favorite paintings of Vincent Van Gogh, and I have been able to see it in person.  A photograph doesn't show how thickly he applied his paint and how much texture he incorporated in the work.  Keeping in mind that he was in a mental asylum when he painted this self-portrait the viewer can see the look of intensity in his bright blue eyes.  That same color blue dominates the painting, both in his clothes and in the background, the work is vibrant and full of movement.

Van Gogh often didn't have much money and by painting himself he always had a ready model, he may also have painted his portrait to emulate the great "Old Masters" and to learn more about himself by studying himself closely in the mirror.











Wednesday, October 4, 2017

On this Date in History, October 4: Birth of Cranach, Piranesi, Millet and Remington

What happened on this date in art history?  

Interior of the Pantheon (commonly called the Rotunda)
from Vedute di Roma (Views of Rome), Giovanni Battista Piranesi, 1768

October 4 is the birthday of four different artists from the 16th to the 19th century: Lucas Cranach the Younger, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Jean-François Millet and Frederic Remington.


Portrait of the Artist's Father, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Lucas Cranach the Younger, 1550


Lucas Cranach the Younger (October 4, 1515 – January 25, 1586) was a German artist, whose father was the well known and prolific Lucas Cranach the Elder (pictured above in a portrait by his son).  Cranach the Younger trained with his father and was a successful artist in his own right, producing dozens of paintings and woodcuts.  He found success with secular themes right after the Protestant Reformation.


The Gothic Arch, Etching from the series: The Imaginary Prisons, c-1750

Giovanni Battista Piranesi (October 4, 1720 – November 9, 1778) was an Italian artist best known for his hundreds of etchings including views of Rome, Pompeii and his series on "Le Carceri d'Invenzione" or The Imaginary Prisons.  Piranesi was born and raised in the Veneto region of Italy, where he trained in both architecture and stage design for theater and opera. 

However he later moved to Rome and he spent most of his life in Rome which gave him the inspiration for his art.


The Gleaners, Jean François Millet, the Louvre, 1857



Jean-François Millet (October 4, 1814 – January 20, 1875) grew up on a modest farm in Normandy.  He was educated in both art and literature and move tod Paris in 1837 to further his studies in art at the Ecole des Beaux Arts.  Instead he joined the studio of a minor master painter, Paul Delaroche. 

Millet's talent as a painter was evident and he started receiving critical acclaim in the early 1840's. Millet moved to Barbizon in 1849 and remained there for the rest of his life.  He is perhaps best known for he work “The Gleaners”, as an artist Millet wanted to paint farmers and peasants performing their daily tasks of work, which was a big change from the popular history and mythology paintings popular at that time.  


The End of the Day, Frederic Remington (1861-1909)


Frederic Remington (October 4, 1861 – December 26, 1909) was an American artist best known for his drawings, paintings and sculptures of the American West.  He studied art both at Yale University and the Art Students League in New York City.  He traveled to Montana and Kansas, where he had a studio for a while.  He returned to New York where he worked as a writer and artist.  During his life his work was published in over 40 magazines and newspapers.

On a note other than art history, October 4, 1582 was the last day before the new "Gregorian Calendar" that is still in use today was implemented.  Pope Gregory XIII worked to reform the former calendar by correcting some miscalculations.  In the year 1582, October 4 was followed by October 15, the first day in the new calendar.





Sunday, October 1, 2017

Giovanna Garzoni

Giovanna Garzoni, 1600-1670, was a successful and talented Italian Baroque painter who traveled around Europe and worked for the Medici family for a decade.  She was best known for both her miniature portraits and her botanical paintings.

Chinese Porcelain Plate with Cherries, Giovanna Garzoni, c- 1651-62

Garzoni was born in Ascoli Piceno (in the Marche region) in 1600 to Venetian parents. While she was still young the family moved to Rome where she was raised.  Garzoni was the daughter of painter Nunzio Garzoni, who worked as a miniaturist and also the niece of painter Pietro Gaia. It is thought she studied painting under them.  As a young woman she moved to Venice with her brother where she studied calligraphy and received several important painting commissions for religious altarpieces.

Not much is known about her early life, she may have been married while young and a short time later had the marriage annulled.  She traveled and worked in several major Italian cities such as Naples, Venice, Florence and Rome.

After her time in Venice Garzoni briefly moved to Naples and while there worked for the Viceroy, which attracted the attention of the Duchess of Savoy, Christine Marie of France (shown below).


Christine Marie of France, Duchess of Savoy, wife of Vittorio Amedeo I,
Giovanna Garzoni, 1635, miniature painting, Uffizi Gallery, Florence,


 Among Garzoni's best known works were her miniature portraits, done while she was working for Victor Amadeus I, the Duke of Savoy.  The Duchess of Savoy, Christine Marie of France (1606–1663), (pictured) was one of the daughters of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici.   Following her husbands death, Duchess Christine Marie served as regent of the Duchy from 1637 to 1663.

Portrait of Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy (1587-1637), Giovanna Garzoni, 1635,
miniature portrait, Uffizi Gallery, Florence

As the Duchess was part of the Medici family, Giovanna was introduced to them through her, they were impressed by her skill as a painter and she traveled back an forth between the Medici courts in Rome and Florence working from them.  During this time Garzoni mainly painted botanical subject matter for which she is now best known.
 

Still Life with a Bowl of Citrons, Giovanna Garzoni, late 1640's, tempera on vellum, Getty Museum

The Medici Court in Florence had a tradition of commissioning botanical paintings. In addition to Garzoni Florentine painters Jacopo Ligozzi (1541-1587) and Bartolomeo Bimbi (1648-1729) also painted hundreds of botanical and still-life paintings for the family. In the 16th and 17th century the Medici were quite interested in plants and the natural world, and their love of botanical paintings stemmed from that.

While Garzoni may have been influenced by the paintings of Ligozzi during her time in Florence, she had been commissioned to paint a herbarium in Rome as a teenager and therefore had previous experience painting botanicals.

Figs, Bartolomeo Bimbi, 1696, oil on canvas (116 x 155 cm) Villa Medicea (Poggio a Caiano)

Based on his work and subject matter and the fact that he would have been exposed to her work, it appears that Bartolomeo Bimbi was influenced by the work of Garzoni.  Compare their two versions of paintings of figs.



Figs, Giovanna Garzoni, 1650's, watercolor on parchment,
Palatine Gallery, Pitti Palace, Florence, 9.65 " x 13.5 " (245 x 345 mm)

Giovanna Garzoni's very detailed, carefully rendered and exquisitely painted botanical works were praised and sought after.  She spent at least a decade working on these at the Medici courts.  During this time she painted a wide variety of plants, fruit and vegetables, birds and insects.



China Bowl with Figs, a Bird, and Cherries, Giovanna Garzoni, 1650's, watercolor on parchment, 
Palatine Gallery, Pitti Palace, Florence, 10.2" x 14.9" (260 x 380 mm)

Giovanna Garzoni was one of the most successful women painters in the 17th century. Her patrons included several Dukes of Savoy (Turin), the Medici Family (Florence and Rome) and the Colonna family (Rome).  The 17th century artist, art historian and author Carlo Ridolfi included her in his "Le Maraviglie dell'Arte" which was his comprehensive volume on artists and their are, and her botanical paintings continue to influence artists centuries after her lifetime. 




Wednesday, September 6, 2017

2017-18 Art History Lecture Series at Gage

2017-18 Art History Lecture Series at Gage, will start in October and run through May, we are now in our 3rd year of this fantastic lecture series!
 
Featuring Gage teaching artists as well as art historians from the Seattle art community, these lectures feature an intimate look inside the artists and movements that helped shape art from the Renaissance through the 20th Century.
 

Register online for a single lecture, a quarterly series or the entire 2017-18 program, and delve into the techniques, ideologies and personalities that define art in our world. This year's series is really interesting and will rang from a variety of topics from Medieval through Modern.  The series will start off with a look at Giotto and end with an overview of Op Art.  There is more information on each along with info on the artist or art historian below.



Lamentation of Christ, Giotto, c-1305, fresco, Arena Chapel, Padua    
Oct 18 – Rob Prufer – Giotto and the Arena Chapel

Local art historian Rob Prufer will discuss this important work of early Italian Renaissance Art. Prufer is well known for his popular Loggia Lecture series on art and art history at the Bellevue Arts Museum.



The Arena Chapel’s frescoed interior transports you with its ultramarine vault of heaven and its earthy embrace of human experience. Giotto’s use of gestures, glances and fleshy postures infuses the Christian story with a gravity and a levity that were astounding 700 years ago—and still resonate today.

 

    The Chess Game, Sofonisba Anguissola, 1555, Museum Navrodwe, Poznan, Poland
     
Oct 25 – Carol Hendricks – Italian Renaissance Women Painters

In addition to my art history blog and working at Gage Academy of Art I also enjoy lecturing on a variety of art history topics and am looking forward to this topic.

The Renaissance provided new opportunities for women in the arts, though they remain less well known.  Several talented painters such as Sofonisba Anguissola, Marietta Robusti, Lavinia Fontana and Fede Galizia made important contributions to painting in the 16th century.


    David, Michelangelo, marble, 1501-1504, Accademia Gallery, Florence

    photo- © Rico Heil / public domain, via Wikimedia Commons  
Nov 1 – Gary Faigin - Michelangelo’s David


Join painter, arts writer and art history Gary Faigin to learn more about this masterpiece. One of the world’s most famous works of art, Michelangelo’s David is not as straightforward as it might seem.  We’ll learn about the fascinating and surprising backstory of this monumental masterpiece – why it was commissioned, how it was carved, and its complicated life after its completion.
 
    
    The Virgin of the Rocks, Leonardo da Vinci, 1483, Louvre
     
Nov 8 – Jim Phalen – Chaos vs. Control throughout Art


Jim Phalen is a painter who says this about his work-

"I am committed to the practice of working from life. I seek to capture the integrity of experience through seeing. Without nature there is no conversation. For me painting is a physical manifestation of the act of seeing- a manifestation capable of deep emotion."

 
Phalen will be discussing an overview of painting with a really interesting viewpoint-

Through the history of painting there has been an ongoing tension between the desire to control the process and a willingness to let go and allow the material to fully express itself. From da Vinci to Titan, from Ingres to Gericault and from Chuck Close to Lucien Freud, the back and forth continues. 
 
      The Last Supper, Tintoretto, San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, 1592-94
Jan 17 – Charles Emerson - Renaissance Painting and the Roots of Abstract Expression
 
Popular Modernist painting and instructor Charles Emerson wants to explore how the Italian Renaissance had a direct influence on Abstract Expression in the 20th century.

An artist’s personal expression and passion is sometimes revealed more clearly when we have caught up aesthetically with them, now able to appreciate the often surprising results that perhaps hold more resonance for our time than theirs; often anticipating future developments while still being relevant and exciting.
Jan 24 – Larine Chung – Henri Fantin-Latour

The most celebrated 19th-century French painter of flower, still life and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers, Fantin-Latour was among the first artists who started the art movement of Impressionism.


Join painter and art instructor Larine Chung for her insight into this famous painter.

      Larine Chung, Aqua, 2016, oil on canvas
Jan 31- Terry Furchgott – Gustav Klimt
 

Terry Furchgott, On The Other Side, 2014, acrylic on paper

Terry is known for her large scale work with pastel and acrylic, she has had a number of important public art commissions and is represented by Harris Harvey Gallery in Seattle.  Gustav Klimt is one of her favorite painters.


Gustav Klimt, The Kiss, 1907-08


Gustav Klimt, Austrian Symbolist painter and founding member of the Viennese Secession, is known for the decorative opulence of his surfaces, rich use of color, and sensual beauty of his women.  We will explore the elegant portraits, intricate landscapes, and vibrant eroticism of this most unique artist.   

    
    Poussin, Arcadian Shepherds, 1650
      








Feb 7 – Kimberly Trowbridge- Search for Arcadia: Poussin, Delacroix, Cezanne

In this lecture we will explore how Cezanne was influenced by the works of Poussin and Delacroix in his rigorous attempt to unite form with color. We will consider how each of these artists sought a new unity, a new visual paradise, to express the truth of their experience. 
 
Kimberly Trowbridge, Arcadia Wheel, Oil on Canvas, 64" x 60," 2013



Kimberly Trowbridge is a painter, a musician, an instructor and an art historian. 
She  writes-
"Painting is how I stay awake. It is how I cultivate and arrange my thoughts. It is how I come to understand the relationships between things, through rhythm and color.
I gather information from the visual realm and compose the parts into an articulate expression of my experience. This is the practice I have developed through painting. I use this method both on and off of the canvas: I paint images, construct theatric installations, layer video footage, compose music, and perform my body through space all through the language of painting."



Emperor Justinian and his Attendants, San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, 547 AD, mosaic

    April 11 – Kathleen Moore – The Enigma of Byzantine Art

    The Byzantine empire started in antiquity and lasted for a thousand years. Best known for their glittering mosaics in Ravenna and Istanbul, their art continues to fascinate contemporary audiences.



    What secrets are those wide-eyed Byzantine figures keeping from us? Come with painter, instructor and art historian Kathleen Moore on a journey into the ancient world to find out!

     

      Johannes Vermeer, The Milkmaid, c-1660

    April 18 – Tenaya Sims – Vermeer’s Milkmaid

    Come here painter and Atelier instructor Tenaya Sims talk on Vermeer's Milkmaid and the Camera Obscura controversy.

    Vermeer's compositions are legendary, and the painting, 'The Milkmaid' is a hallmark example of his expertise. Does it matter if he used optical technology? If so, was he limited artistically by these tools?


      Käthe Kollwitz, Die Mütter (The Mothers), Plate VI from the series Krieg (War), 1922-1923,
      Woodcut printed in black on Japan paper
       

    April 25 – Rebecca Albiani – Käthe Kollwitz

     



    A graphic artist in the tradition of Goya and Daumier, Kollwitz worked in Berlin through two world wars, depicting starving children and grieving mothers.  Through her powerful imagery she had hopes of promoting social change. 
     
    Jeffrey Simmons, Strength of Strings, 2016
    May 2 – Jeffrey Simmons – The Op Art movement
    Abstract painter Simmons will discuss this key 20th century painting movement.  Jeffrey is represented by the Greg Kucera Gallery and started teaching abstract painting at Gage this past summer.




    The Op Art movement, typified by the works of Bridget Riley, Jesus Rafael Soto, and New York-born Seattle resident Francis Celentano, had its fascinatingly brief moment during the 1960's, when it influenced fashion and contributed to the popular perception of what "modern" painting looked like. Well received by the public but occasionally derided by critics as mere gimmickry, the movement has been the subject of an ongoing historical reevaluation and has become a source of inspiration for recent generations of artists.


         

      Tuesday, September 5, 2017

      On this Date in History, September 5: Birth of de la Tour and Friedrich

      What happened on this date in art history?  September 5 brings us two birthdays of painters born in the 18th century, French Rococo painter Maurice Quentin de la Tour and German Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich.



      Maurice Quentin de la Tour, Self-Portrait, 1751, Amiens, Musée de Picardie


      Maurice Quentin de La Tour (September 5, 1704 – February 17, 788) was a French Rococo painter best known for his pastel portraits.


      Pastels were a new art media in the 18th century, they solidified pigments into portable sticks and were useful for quick sketches that could be translated into larger paintings later as well as landscapes and portraits that would allow for shorter lengths of time for the subject to sit.

      De la Tour's own self-portrait is one of his best known works, the artist was able to portray a variety of textures quite beautifully from fabrics such as his velvet coat to hair and skin.

      He was a popular artist in France and painted portraits of the King, the royal family, the King's mistress, Voltaire and other distinguished people in France.

      The Metropolitan Museum of Art writes of de la Tour on their website-

      "In the age of Enlightenment when the medium of pastel gained immense popularity, Maurice-Quentin de La Tour was perhaps its most gifted practitioner. He was distinguished from his peers by his ability to capture the inner spirit and intellect of his sitters."

      Caspar David Friedrich, Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog (1817-1818), Hamburg Art Museum


      Caspar David Friedrich (September 5, 1774 – May 7, 1840) was a German Romantic painter known for his landscapes.  Friedrich spent much of his life and career in Dresden.  He began his painting career in 1807, but had been drawing for several years beforehand.

      Unlike the work of de la Tour during the time of the Enlightenment, a period known for its reason, the era of Romanticism focused on mood and emotion, theatricality, passion and dramatic settings.

      There was a new interest in and reverence for nature which is why elements of landscape frequently appear in Romantic art, particularly in the work of Friedrich. Friedrich often combined figures in his landscape work in interesting compositions (he painted himself into the work below on the right)



      Caspar David Friedrich, Two Men Contemplating the Moon (1825-30), Metropolitan Museum of Art

       

      Monday, August 28, 2017

      Wyeth and more Wyeth this fall in the Pacific Northwest

      Everyone in the Pacific Northwest who is a fan of Andrew Wyeth and the rest of the talented Wyeth family is in for a treat this fall with a big exhibit at both the Portland Art Museum and the Seattle Art Museum which will be running concurrently starting in October 2017.

      The PAM show, The Wyeths: Three Generations, runs from Oct 7, 2017 – Jan 28, 2018 and the SAM show, Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect, runs from Oct 19 2017 – Jan 15 2018.  More information from the website of each museum is listed below.  This will provide an excellent opportunity to view some of the most influential representational painting from the 20th century.  I can't wait to attend both exhibits later this fall!


      
      Andrew Wyeth (American, 1917-2009), On the Edge, 2001, Tempera on panel, Bank of America Collection.



      The Wyeths:Three Generations


      Works from the Bank of America Collection


      OCT 7, 2017 – JAN 28, 2018
      The Wyeths are one of America’s foremost artistic families. Their work has captured the admiration of audiences for three generations, spanning the golden age of illustration to mid-century portraiture. Drawing from the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Collection, The Wyeths: Three Generations includes more than eighty paintings and drawings by N. C. Wyeth (1882-1945), his son Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009) and his grandson Jamie Wyeth (born in 1946). All showcase a commitment to realism, technical brilliance, and narrative sensibility.

       Patriarch N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945) was one of the country’s foremost illustrators at the turn of the twentieth century. His ability to beautifully traverse fantasy and realism made him one of the most versatile American artists of his time. N.C.’s son Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009) became known for his detailed realism and haunting scenes of American life inspired by the history and beauty of the American northeast.

       Although not as well-known as her brother, Henriette Wyeth (1907-1997) painted striking portraits, landscapes, and still lifes. She is also represented in the exhibition, as is her husband Peter Hurd (1904-1984), who chronicled the landscape of the American West. Lastly, Andrew’s son Jamie (b. 1946) represents the family’s third generation of artists. Jamie, too, utilizes a realistic style, but adds his own twist of magic and mystery to his subjects.


      This exhibition is provided by Bank of America’s Art in our Communities®.

      MAJOR SPONSORS: Bank of America, Joanne Lilley in memory of Pete Mark

      SPONSORS: The Flowerree Foundation, Laura S. Meier in memory of Pete Mark

      

      Andrew Wyeth, Winter 1946, 1946, Tempera on hardboard panel, 31 3/8 x 48 in., North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, Purchased with funds from the State of North Carolina, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth/Artists Rights Society (ARS).





      Simonyi Special Exhibition Galleries

      Thu Oct 19 2017 – Mon Jan 15 2018

      Enter Andrew Wyeth’s reality. On the 100th anniversary of the artist’s birth, Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect examines the American master’s 75-year career and offers unexpected perspectives on his art and legacy. Organized in partnership with the Brandywine River Museum, this major exhibition presents over 100 of the artist’s paintings and drawings. It looks back on a century in America when Wyeth confounded critics and deviated from the American art mainstream, but continued to figure prominently in much of the country’s artistic discourse.

       Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect follows the evolution of one of America’s most famous painters by bringing together well-known and rarely seen works. From depictions of his life in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, to the coastal villages of Maine, Wyeth created timeless images of places, people, and things—layered with acute observation and a boundless imagination—all imbued with the artist’s mysterious temperament. Often out of synch with the time, Wyeth’s art challenged the norms of realism and abstraction.

       The exhibition begins in the late 1930s with Wyeth’s breakthrough works of brilliantly colored, boldly gestural, transparent watercolors of the Maine coast. These were soon set aside for the somber-toned and tightly rendered tempera paintings often associated with the artist. They include some of the artist’s most famous paintings, such as portraits of Christina Olson of Maine and Karl Kuerner, his neighbor in Chadds Ford.

       Also on view are the artist’s little known portraits of African Americans, a major focus of Wyeth’s work in the 1950s and ‘60s, followed by work from the 1970s and ‘80s, including the eroticism of the once-secret Helga paintings, and other deeply psychological but lesser known paintings from the Helga years. Finally, the exhibition reflects on images of his later life as he closed the book on his earlier subjects and looked for new ones. It brings to Seattle Wyeth’s last painting, Goodbye, which has not been seen since it was briefly shown to those who attended the artist’s memorial service in 2009.

       Andrew Wyeth investigated the possibilities of the portrait, the figure, and the places we inhabit—shunning narrative and rising above cliché—to convey the very emotions that make us human.

       The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalogue co-published by Yale University Press.

      Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect is co-organized by the Brandywine River Museum of Art and Seattle Art Museum.


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