Dog Art Today

Tag: andrew wyeth

  • Andrew Wyeth Studio Tour

     

    Andrew_wyeth_studio_by_emma_lee_newsworks

     

    Andrew Wyeth’s studio, recreated by curators based on memories of family and friends, arranged as though he were in the process of painting Raccoon, a portrait of a hunting dog.  Emma Lee/NewsWorks

    The studio of one of my favorite dog artists, and one of the greatest American artists, Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009), is now open to the public at the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, PA.

    Peter Crimmins writes about his studio visit with photos by Emma Lee of NewsWorks that will make you feel good about your own messy studio.  According to Crimmins, “There are broken egg shells (Wyeth mostly worked in egg tempera), photographs are haphazardly hung on the walls, and sketches are scattered on the floor…Wyeth enjoyed seeing his preliminary sketches scuffed with footprints and paw prints.”

    My kind of artist.

    Full article.

    P.S. Did you know the Helga sensation was phony art-and-sex scandle ginned up by the collector who bought the paintings *and* the copyright?!  I didn’t.

  • Andrew Wyeth Dies at 91

    Andrew_wyeth_master_besdroom 

    Master Bedroom

    Andrew Wyeth, one of our great American painters, died in his sleep this morning at the age of 91.  Wyeth the son of famed illustrator N.C. Wyeth and father to artist Jamie Wyeth, is best known for his stark, neutral, paintings of the two places he called home, Chadss Ford, Pennsylvania (where he died) and Cushing, Maine.  Landscapes and people alone in their domestic settings were common subjects, but dogs made appearances too. 

    My favorite Wyeth dog painting, and one much beloved by his fans, is Master Bedroom.  The unadorned room and the grey tones coupled with the warmth of the sunlit shadow and the cozy dog project an astonishing warmth for a painting that borders on melancholy.

    His critics, who have diminished over the span of his career, pegged his style as  Realism and called it sentimental.  I completely disagree.  I see it as soulful.  Wyeth called it "thoughtful."

    And, I am not even sure the category of Realism applies to his work.  Yes, his paintings depict realistic subjects, ones he stayed true to as the 20th century Pop Art start dug into abstraction, but spend some time with his paintings and you'll see the surreality of his world come through, from the dazzling effect light can have on a newspaper left on the ground, to the complexity of what it means to be alone with one's thoughts.  Yes, Wyeth captured the daily life of simple Americans, but through the brilliance of his brushstrokes and mastery of composition, he showed us that nothing is more surreal than life itself.

    Andrew-wyeth-the-intruder 

    The Intuder

    Andrew-wyeth-ides-of-march 

    Ides of March

    If these paintings or Wyeth's name are not familiar to you, you probably know him by his most famous painting:

    Christinas_world 

    Christina's World

  • Jamie Wyeth’s Dog Days of Summer

    Homer

    The Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, PA is offering a rare opportunity to see four decades of Jamie Wyeth’s dog art this summer. The exhibition, entitled Dog Days of Summer, includes Wyeth’s earliest dog-themed work, a sketch he made at age 9, as well as numerous privately owned works never before seen by the public.

    Wyeth, an avid dog lover, owns four Jack Russells at the moment, and they are prominent in much of his work. Two of my favorites are Homer (above) and Squirreling (below). Read Carol Kipp’s Delaware Online article to learn more. The show runs until September 3.

    Sqirreling

    Visit The Brandywine River Museum Shop to pick up the illustrated catalogue, Dog Days by Jamie Wyeth, which includes the artist’s personal stories about the paintings. The shop is also a great place to find wonderful posters, reproductions, and merchandise featuring the works of Jamie Wyeth, his father, Andrew Wyeth, and grandfather, N.C. Wyeth — who are often considered the first family of American Art.