Wyeth family visits Brandywine River Museum

Inquirer staff writer Kathleen Brady Shea reports from Chadds Ford:

Andrew Wyeth’s son and granddaughter visited the Brandywine River Museum this morning.

“He died at home very peacefully,” Nicholas Wyeth said. “He was a very happy man.”

Nicholas’s daughter, Victoria Wyeth, said one of the last things the family talked about was “Snow Hill,” a 1989 painting that is “his death scene.”

The work shows all of Wyeth’s models jubilantly dancing, having been freed from the constraints of holding poses for hours at a time. Many of his models have died.

“That’s who he’s with now,” said Victoria Wyeth.

A newly installed sign at the museum this morning gave the dates of Andrew Wyeth’s life: 1917 to 2009. Beneath the sign a journal lay open for visitors to add their comments.

The first entry was Victoria Wyeth’s. It said: “I love you so much Andy. You have been the greatest inspiration to me as a person and as my grandpa. I’ll miss you with all my heart. XX Vic.”

Writer and illustrator Gene Barretta, 48, of Wynnewood, got a phone call from his wife informing him that Andrew Wyeth had died. A frequent visitor to the museum, Barretta immediately decided to pay tribute to Wyeth there this morning.

“You are not gone for me,” Barretta wrote in the journal. “You are in every blade of grass here in Chadds Ford. I’ll take a walk with you whenever I need a dose of inspiration.”

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.

Posted by Inquirer Online Desk @ 11:44 AM Permalink | 5 comments

Comments

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:10 PM, 01/16/2009

Andrew's paintings spoke to me on a very quiet and deep level. For whatever reason I connected with his work immediately. What an honor to have such a talent and friend of the earth so close to home. His stark, quiet work spoke to the art, awareness and peace of loneliness. In a world jam packed with distractions his solitary images were a relief to the chaotic world around us which overstimulates our very core. In that quiet solitude lies the strength, recognition and depth of our very being and existence. A moment to tune in and pause in front of one of his deeply reflective works slowed me down and reminded me to appreciate the beauty in simplicity, and the art in the ordinary but perhaps maybe not so ordinary world around us. His work spoke to a romanticized simpler time and had a melancholy air but always with light. Therein perhaps lay hope and the revelation of time, it's passing slow like molasses, eternal and forever seeping through every fiber of our being, calm, silent, almost still. The quiet in the frantic. Andrew's paintings soothed our souls and reminded me of what peace there is in being still and aware of the beauty in even the smallest thing, a glance, a sleeping puppy, a wind swept sea, a flock of birds, a far off look, and light always light dancing off everything. It is a magical world. Sometimes we have to be still and calm to fully appreciate that. Wonderful things are in the ordinary and Andy's work helped me to see, feel, remember and embrace that. Well done and thank you Andy. Paul Burke Author - Journey Home

— JourneyHome

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:16 PM, 01/16/2009

I discovered Andrew Wyeth when I was 11 years old. I saw a print of Groundhog Day hanging in Neumyers General Store in Haddonfield, NJ and I was hooked. I saved my money all summer to buy it and it hangs in my living room today - as is. His work touches me deeply and I am saddeded by his passing. He is an American Icon, a true national treasure and he will be missed. Treat yourself and your family to a trip to the Brandywine River Museum. Take your lunch and eat on the river - a great family outting. My thanks and condolences to the Wyeth Family.

— Vinnie

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 2:31 PM, 01/16/2009

I'm sad to see him go. I've spent many a moment absorbed by his work. I always seek out his paintings and watercolors whenever I travel to a new city. There's something so magical about his view of the world. It was a big thrill when I finally made it to the Olsen house outside Cushing, Maine. I just wandered around the grounds, staring at thouse from this angle and that, thinking, So this is the place, this is the place. I recommend it if you haven't been. Goodbye, Andy. We'll miss you, but you're no doubt already making plans for a great costume party up there with all your cronies. Say hi to N.C. for us.

— JohnNorth

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 2:38 PM, 01/16/2009

Why does the lead article have a photo of Wyeth and his mistress sitting at the counter of a local diner? We know Helga played a major role in Wyeth's life...but why did the paper not show the artist in it's cover article with Betsy, his wife, the known motor behind the marketing of the "Wyeth" reputation, legend and public persona?

— Friend of Fily