Tucson Museum of Art features work by three generations of the Wyeth family
December 17, 2020
Tucson, AZ – Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block (TMA) celebrates a century of American Realism in The Wyeths: Three Generations | Works from the Bank of America Collection. The exhibition is scheduled to open on January 21, 2021 and run through May 9, 2021.
For three generations, the Wyeths have created art that captures the imagination and admiration of a wide audience. This exhibition presents more than sixty paintings, drawings and illustrations by N.C. (Newell Convers) Wyeth, his son Andrew Wyeth and his grandson Jamie Wyeth. The works span most of the 20th century in American Realism, revealing the breadth of the Wyeth family’s creative output, and illuminate both common themes within the works and the artists’ individual styles.
“This collection not only shows the skills of these artists as individuals but further exemplifies them as one of America’s foremost artistic families,” said Christine Brindza, Glasser Curator of Art of the American West and the lead curator for the exhibition. “Visitors to the exhibition will discover the remarkable range of subjects, styles and technical abilities of this family as well as their unique visions of American life.”
N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945) has long been considered one of the nation’s leading illustrators. In the early 1900s, he studied with illustrator Howard Pyle in Delaware. In 1911, he built a house and studio in nearby Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Later, he shared the studio with his daughters and his son Andrew. The exhibition includes illustrations for books by Robert Louis Stevenson and Washington Irving as well as historical scenes, seascapes and landscapes.
Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009) remains one of the United States’ most popular artists, and his paintings follow the American Realist tradition, which includes Winslow Homer. He was influenced by the works of Homer, whose watercolor technique he admired, as well as by the art of his father and Howard Pyle. While Andrew painted recognizable images, his use of line and space often imbue his works with an underlying abstract quality. The exhibition includes important works from the 1970s and 1980s as well as more recent paintings.
Jamie Wyeth (b.1946), like his father and grandfather, has painted subjects of everyday life, in particular the landscape, animals and people of Pennsylvania and Maine. In contrast to his father—who painted with watercolor, drybrush and tempera—Jamie works in oil and mixed media, creating lush, painterly surfaces. Eighteen paintings represent all periods of his career.
“We’re excited for the Tucson community to experience the legacy of this illustrious artistic family and are grateful to Bank of America for making it possible by lending this collection,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, Jon and Linda Ender Director and CEO of Tucson Museum of Art. “The Wyeths demonstrate a legacy of narrative sensibility in their artworks, and the stories they tell range from whimsical to profound, from the shared experiences of a nation to deeply personal reflections.”
The Wyeths: Three Generations | Works from the Bank of America Collection comes to TMA through Bank of America’s Art in Our Communities® program, which has loaned exhibitions to more than 140 museums worldwide since 2009. Bank of America also sponsors Museums on Us®, which provides free access to Bank of America credit card holders over the first full weekend of every month at TMA.
“We recognize that the arts are a cultural and economic driver within our local community,” said Adriana Kong Romero, Tucson Market President, Bank of America. “We are excited to loan this incredible exhibition to the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block as part of our Art in our Communities® program that loans exhibitions at no cost to nonprofit community museums across the country. Tucson has a tremendous arts and culture landscape that we encourage everyone to experience.“
The exhibition will be supported by a series of public programs. Details will be available on TMA’s website as they become available: TucsonMuseumofArt.org/events.
This exhibition has been loaned through the Bank of America Art in our Communities® program.
The 2020-2021 Exhibition Season at TMA is presented by James and Louise Glasser.
With support from the following season sponsors: Fran and Jim Allen, Alice and Paul Baker, Mary Jo Brown, Connie Hillman Family Foundation, I. Michael and Beth Kasser, Anne and Ed Lyman, Jeanne Pickering and Mike Andrew, TMA League, Contemporary Art Society, Latin American Art Patrons and Western Art Patrons.
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