Groundhog Day, 1959 tempera
I've always loved this painting. I pulled a reproduction from an old Horizon magazine as a young girl, and have carried it with me since.
Trodden Weed, 1951 tempera.
For all the emphasis on his realism, I always appreciated the abstract qualities in his work.
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My favorite realistic painter. I just posted about him a few days ago. Tears…..
Tears for sure. As an Easterner I have always felt he saw the same East I see, and I strongly suspect that people from other places could say the same.
It's funny, he's one of those artists who gets such a bad rap. I did degrees in art history and painting, and in both zones he was dismissed out of hand for being an illustrator, sentimental, etc. There are paintings I like far more than others, but that's true of every artist. I resent being advised not to admire someone - and have always had a soft spot for Wyeth.
I should confess to not shedding tears when a man of ninety-one passes. He had a good life, and a long one. I feel like I did when Paul Newman died - this sense of "Good job, thank you, rest well."
Not a literal tear, but the wish for one more ah moment that a number of his painting have given me.
One of my favorites I can't find on line, but it is in my book of his paintings. It is a watercolor of an old black man. The blurb next to the painting says, "There was about Tom Clark just a suggestion of a mysterious heritage. His features were sharp and his eyes a disarming blue. As he sat in his morris chair, posing, the stove pipe became a crown that he wore with great dignity, and blue of his garret ceiling, royal.
Is it That Gentleman? I like the scissors in that painting, and the bright patch of light. Pretty sure that's tempera, so you may be talking about something else.
Nothing wrong with tears, btw - I was just describing my own reaction.
It isn't "That Gentlemen" which I had never seen before I looked it up, but I like it. The painting I mean is of that very same model, Tom Clark. I can't find it anywhere. In my book it is titled "Chester County" which is strange for a portrait.
Saw your comment on Althouse. My obit is here:
http://www.spyralnotebook.com/2009/01/rip-andrew-wyeth.html
Thanks Jake - very nice piece.
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