Monday, February 27, 2012

The Brandywine Museum.

It was the perfect day on Sunday to roam the galleries of the Brandywine River Museum.

Every once in awhile I need an immersion into the art of the Wyeth family; N.C., Andy, Jamie, and Andy's sisters Carolyn and Henriette.

Andy's father, N.C., was world famous for his colorful and usually action-packed illustrations of the classics. Here is one of my favorites, from "Last Of The Mohicans."

Not far from the museum N.C.'s studio sits on a hill in the woods. Here it is painted by Andy on a winter day.

At heart I'm a sucker for nostalgia, but I don't think it should have a dominate place in a painting.
One of the major reasons I love the works of Andrew Wyeth is because of his very  abstract compositions.
Look at these wonderful shapes.

And although he eventually rejected his earlier more colorful watercolors for seeming too "facile," look how loose and immediate this painting is.

Andy's son Jamie gets a bit too "cute" for me at times, but when he's serious, he does stunning works.

Two of Andy's sisters were also painters. This is an almost surrealistic painting by Carolyn Wyeth.

And here, a lush still life by Henriette.

To go from the sublime to...well, my sketchbook, here is a drawing of a guard, while each of us was having lunch.

Almost exactly one year ago I did this oil, while standing on the banks of the Brandywine near the museum. It was a sunny, but very cold, day.

But the most fun I had yesterday was focusing on this nasty pirate, scaling a log barricade. It's from one of N.C.'s illustrations for "Treasure Island."

7 comments:

  1. I love that museum! Looks like the old favorites are doing well!!

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  2. Once again I enjoyed it all.

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  3. Wyeth's watercolor rocks never cease to amaze me..
    merci carolg

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  4. Thank you katepaai, whoever you are, for your comments.
    And Ms. PB; I know you've wrestled with many a rock
    and watercolor, on the coast of Maine.
    Rocks ain't easy!

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  5. Amy; you and I should spend an afternoon at the Brandywine, and have lunch at "Hanks."

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  6. Hi William,
    I always learn something when I come here ; ) I had no idea there were any Wyeth women painters. I really like the one by Carolyn. Very strong. I'll have to do an online search. Also, I found out that the VanGogh exhibit you saw on your birthday is coming to Canada next! It will be at our national gallery in Ottawa (which is about 6 hours from me). And Picasso is coming to Toronto. It will be a good summer for art!
    And thanks for that bit about Wolf Kahn. I had no idea he worked that way. There you go - it's beneficial to mix it up sometimes ; ) I'll keep plowing away at it.

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