Artists of Wyeth Country: Howard Pyle, N. C. Wyeth, and Andrew Wyeth

Description

The Brandywine Tradition, founded by Howard Pyle and carried on by N. C. Wyeth and others, is rooted in superb draftsmanship, sumptuous handling of oil paint, and detailed visual observation (if not exhaustive historical research). The tradition was carried into our own times by Andrew Wyeth, among the most beloved of American artists.Artists of Wyeth Country offers admirers of this school a chance to literally follow in these artists’ footsteps. Journalist W. Barksdale Maynard provides six in-depth walking and driving tours that allow readers to visit the places the Wyeths and Pyle painted in Chadds Ford, PA. As Maynard explains, Andrew Wyeth’s artistic process was influenced by Henry David Thoreau’s nature-worship and by simply walking daily. Maps, aerial photographs, as well as glorious full-color images and artworks of the landscape (many never reproduced before) illustrate the text.Maynard also presents an unauthorized and unbiased biographical portrait of Andrew Wyeth. Using interviews he conducted with family, friends, neighbors—and even actress Eva Marie Saint—he shines a different light on the reclusive artist, emphasizing Wyeth’s artistic debts to both Pyle and surrealism. Artists of Wyeth Country is sure to be an essential new source for those who love American art as well as for admirers of the scenic landscapes of the Mid-Atlantic, of which the Brandywine Valley is an exceptional example.