The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Andrew Wyeth, RIP

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Andrew Wyeth is dead at 91, the Washington Post reports. (Go ahead and look at the slideshow. It's wonderful.) Wyeth was best known for his painting "Christina's World," a painting that captured the struggle of his polio-stricken neighbor crawling toward a house. It was a painting that became his defining piece, one that would haunt him. My mother once told me that in an interview, he was asked what the one thing he would change in his work if he could. He said he wouldn't have put "that girl in that damned painting." I wonder if there's any truth to it.

At a lecture for the National Endowment for Humanities, John Updike did a slideshow of American art, narrating it. If you've never heard Updike speak, try to find an audio sample. His voice is weathered, but sweet, not bitter. American art, he explained, was put down as being defined by too many lines. It was all "too liney," sniffed European connoisseurs. But over time, this "flaw" was considered a defining characteristic. You could go through the whole of American art, and find that similar characteristic.

Wyeth conveyed parts of American life that were at once bleak and beautiful. His scenes were simple, never ornate. Where Norman Rockwell thrived on drawing the little trinkets that would appear on a teacher's desk, Wyeth preferred to draw some grass and the shadows that fall upon dried out wood. He played with shadows in a way that rivaled Edward Hopper, but it seemed like a different austerity entirely -- where Hopper was curious about how light could hit a building, Wyeth seemed focused on how the light left it, or how things, generally were left after being touched. It's not that his work was a study of ruin. Instead, it was the study of subtleties.

Art rooted in subtlety, art that doesn't beat you over the head with a message. The subtlety of art today comes in its abstraction, in its impenetrability. It's so subtle you can't get it, because it's hidden from you. And then it's still loud. Look at a Rothko (this one is more subtle than others), and then this. They share a certain liney-ness. Look at the artist's effort with Christina's belt. How the creases in her dress cast small shadows. The line of the horizon, and the house set against it. Things don't blend in these areas. They stand out. But quietly.

Where we now face a difficult climate for the economy, where every forecast from Washington is about how much poorer we are all becoming, Wyeth's paintings provide a glimpse of the quiet dignity and restlessness that define the American character. You only need look at Christina's struggle, not as a fool's errand, but as a great task that can be tackled. You only need to be reassured that her hand is reaching down to move herself forward, not reaching upward and merely hopeful. This can be done.

Andrew Wyeth, rest in peace.

UPDATE: On the official Andrew Wyeth site, they are apparently soliciting people to tell where Wyeth's work has wound up. If you or anyone you know has an original work by Wyeth, please contact them. Otherwise, just stare at the art in amazement.

View all comments (28) | Leave a comment

Steve Boggs| 1.16.09 @ 9:03PM

Andrew Wyeth was the greatest American painter.
He will be sorely missed

Alan Brooks| 1.16.09 @ 9:13PM

sure beats jackson pollock.

i like to keep my dinner down.

Alan Brooks| 1.16.09 @ 9:16PM

btw (in this age you have to use disclaimers):

i'm sure Pollock IS art, but some of us don't like running to the men's room.

Leona Mason Heitsch| 1.16.09 @ 9:22PM

Scarerow, is for me, the definitive Wyeth.

Years ago when we lived downstream from
Chadds' Ford, in Wilmington, the painting of
a faded windblown rag, a remnant of a scarecrow told me this:

Scarecrow Prophet

Useless tatter,
twice disowned
I sketch a line
that wind has honed
and bear a tale
that streaming air,
unrobed,
can't speak.

Wyeth brought the invisible to light,
for all who can see.

Thank you Andrew, wherever your soul
now roams or rests.

Jeremiah| 1.16.09 @ 9:23PM

Fortunately this is the kind of art liberals will never understand much less appreciate (you need a heart AND a brain for that purpose), otherwise they would have mapplethorpedoed it to oblivion.
Rest in Peace, Mister Wyeth and let us thank God for your beautiful mind.

Alan Brooks| 1.16.09 @ 11:42PM

i dont care what 'art' is as long as it doesnt give me the heaves.
RIP, Andy, you were not coarse and disgusting.

Deborah| 1.17.09 @ 3:56AM

Thanks for this beautifully written post, Mr. Freire and for the link to view some of Wyeth's works. Wyeth's art makes you feel something. That is indeed rare these days. RIP, Mr. Wyeth, and thanks for leaving the world a little richer.

brian| 1.17.09 @ 10:34AM

andrew wyeth was an inspiration to me. may he rest in peace.

Louis Torres| 1.17.09 @ 11:12AM

Thanks to J. Peter Freire for this appreciation. Andrew Wyeth was the greatest American painter of the twentieth century. Now he joins Winslow Homer and Thomas Eakins (not bad company) in the pantheon of American art. I find much of his work deeply moving, including this one: 'That Gentleman' [http://www.artinthepicture.com/artists/Andrew_Wyeth/gentleman.jpeg]. I could cite other such paintings and drawings that are largely unknown, but for now will leave it at that.

iremember| 1.17.09 @ 12:47PM

The art critics of the twentieth century had a vested interest in modern art. Unfortunately modern art is shallow and decorative. Have you ever noticed how few people visit the modern art section of our galleries. To ask the viewer to see
nothing in your art is asking too much. This is the type of thing that should be reserved for building decorations and mouldings for furniture. True art is not mere imitation. These so-called critics of taste in many instances are not great
artists themselves and wouldn't know how to paint a great picture if their life depended on it. Great art is a synthesis of life. A coordination of great design, which is all that modern has and nothing else, a feeling for the subject, great skill, and yes a sense of form. Abstract modern art has only the design. Great realist art begins with design and then adds the other elements. Great realistic
art is never an imitation of the subject like a camera would give. Critics seem to not understand this. Wake up art world. Andrew Wyeth and other great realistic artists will over time become the remembered artists of the last century. Fashion
is fickle, but great art is timeless. Mere daubs of color without meaning are meaningless. They are fine for decoration but little else.

Anders Sanders| 1.17.09 @ 2:47PM

Jackson Pollock's paintings were made by putting canvases on a park, putting bread crumbs on them, and letting pigeons come and go poo poo all over.

iremember| 1.17.09 @ 3:38PM

The art critics of the twentieth century had a vested interest in modern art. Especially New York avant garde art. This is something very much akin to the popular music scene that also is souless, empty, and talentless. Thus we suspect that is the reason for the New York art scene to try to dictate taste to the rest of the country. The overriding reason is money and power. Much like the ancient Egyptian priests who were also idiots, albeit clever idiots. We have been told that some modern isms are the only American invention in the art world. Unfortunately modern art is shallow and decorative. If these modern art inventions are the best we can do then we have our work cut out for us. Have you ever noticed how few people visit the modern art section of our galleries. To ask the viewer to see nothing in your art is asking too much. This is the type of thing that should be reserved for building decorations and mouldings for furniture. True art is not mere imitation. These so-called critics of taste in many instances are not great artists themselves and wouldn't know how to paint a great picture if their life depended on it. Great art is a synthesis of life. A coordination of great design, which is all that modern has and nothing else, a feeling for the subject, great skill, and yes a sense of form. Abstract modern art has only the design. Great realist art begins with design and then adds the other elements that modern art sorely lacks. Great realistic art is never an imitation of the subject like a camera would give. Critics seem to not understand this. Critics believe that they have great understanding and knowledge enough to dictate our tastes in art. In reality many Art critics are are not worldly enough or smart enough to dictate taste to me or to anyone else. I'm sure that many architects, engineers, and scientists would rely on their own artistic judgement over a mere art critic. Wake up art world. Andrew Wyeth and other great realistic artists will over time become the remembered artists of the last century. Fashion is fickle, but great art is timeless. Modern art is infested with Daubists. Mere daubs of color without meaning are meaningless. They are fine for decoration but little else and they definitely do not qualify as great Art.

Jeremiah| 1.17.09 @ 4:50PM

I particularly like his Helga series. Not exactly the most orthodox work -- and not likely to be found in many living rooms. But great art.

Some of you are talking nonsense about "modern art."

You should go to MoMA in New York City and spend a few days looking at the paintings there. The 20th century was a great time for painting -- including Abrstact Expressionism.

Jeff | 1.18.09 @ 9:29PM

We used to live in Chadds Ford, not far from the Wyeth house. His paintings of that beautiful area captured everything with a purity I've not seen in any other artist of his generation. He had an eye for simple beauty. May he rest in peace.

Mike| 1.19.09 @ 3:56PM

To Alan and iremember: Why is it always either/or? If I like Pollock and Rothko, I can't like Wyeth? Have you seen a Pollock in person? I'll second Jeremiah's suggestion. The large late-period Pollocks at the MOMA are breathtaking.

snowbird| 1.19.09 @ 6:40PM

I am a little known nobody who checked out this art piece after seeing it for the first time a few days ago. I never knew this man existed..but I am touched so by this painting. I create art to post on webshots because I have that need to express what I feel inside and have searched for an outlet for years. Only those with true insight and wisdom can fully understand and comprehend the value of this man's work. I could write a story based on what I see and feel in that one painting. I assure you, his work wan not in vain!! Thank you for allowing me to visit and pay my respects.

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