 |
Collection of the Farnsworth Art Museum, Museum Purchase, 1989.Portrait of a place: The exhibition "The Wyeths: America's Artists" includes this N.C. Wyeth painting "Bright and Fair - Eight Bells,"1936, oil on canvas; 42 3/8 by 52 inches, which is from the Collection of the Farnsworth Art Museum.
|
KALAMAZOO — In “Turkey Pond,” a white-haired man strides through thigh-high sage-colored grass. His back is straight, his head up, as he moves away from us and, determinedly, toward a dark stream in the distance.
Andrew Wyeth’s 1944 tempura painting may be the first of the larger images that catches your eye as you enter the Kalamazoo Institute of Art’s incredible “The Wyeths: America’s Artists.” But it certainly is not the only striking piece here.
Among the 90-some works are paintings and drawings by N.C. Wyeth the patriarch; three of his children, Henriette, Carolyn and Andrew; and Andrew’s son, Jamie. On view are farm buildings, trees, neighbors and animals — roosters, horses, dogs and lots of cats. There is much to admire.
N.C.’s muted, Impressionistic oil painting of “Henriette in the Orchard” (1909-1910), for example, reveals his daughter as a young girl sitting between two gnarled trees. The subtle flecks he’s daubed almost make you think you’re watching cotton-candy-colored snow falling, until you see the trees bear leaves. That soft color is light.
Contrast that invocation of contemplative mood with the bold colors used in his storybook illustrations. “The Siege of the Round House” (1913) depicts a red-vested, fierce soldier, teeth-bared, stabbing angry attacking pirates.
Then look again at N.C.’s calming landscapes — “Bright and Fair — Eight Bells” (1936) or “Wharf at Eight Bells” (1937), the latter with its darkening sky.
Then for something completely different, examine Carolyn’s decidedly odd “Betsy’s Pumpkin” (1935). A blue-and-white covered table is angled almost vertically, and you have to wonder how that pumpkin manages not to cascade onto the floor with a satisfying kersmash.
And, yes, there are “Helga” paintings. From 1971 to 1985 Andrew created pictures of his Chadds Ford, Pa., neighbor Helga Testorf.
In the examples here, we see the German immigrant in a heavy military coat; in confident profile (and naked), her ponytail flipping up to one side and mirroring the upturn of her breasts; and two of her next to a dark tree — one in which she faces us, another with her back turned.
No question, these are powerful and justifiably famous.
All the images in this show tell us something about what the painter saw, and about the mood he or she was attempting to convey — the mood of the subject and of the artist’s state of mind. And some of them are truly breathtaking, in technique and message.
One of my favorites on my initial visit was N.C.’s “Portrait of Henriette as a Child’ (1912). This oil on canvas shows a young, apple-cheeked girl, with ringlets topped by a very large brown bow.
The child is unblinking, obediently looking directly at us. She appears neither sad nor happy.
As with the white-haired man in “Turkey Pond” and, indeed, the rest of her family, she looks proud.
“The Wyeths: America’s Artists” runs at the KIA through April 17.
If You Go
“The Wyeths: America’s Artists”
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts show featuring some 90 drawings and paintings by five members of America’s most celebrated artist family.
When:
Through April 17 Where: Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
Cost:
$8 general, $6 students, $4 KIA members, free 5-8 p.m. Thursdays. Group rates available.
Contact: 269-349-7775, kiarts.org
No comments:
Post a Comment