PA Spotlight: N.C. Wyeth

N.C. Wyeth is a great American illustrator and painter who’s life began and ended in the month of October, so I thought it was fitting to feature his legacy in this month’s PA Spotlight. N.C. Wyeth came to Pennsylvania thanks to two of his friends who relocated for Howard Pyle’s School of Art. Howard Pyle was called the “father” of American illustration, and Wyeth immediately meshed with his methods and ideals.

His first commission was for the Saturday Evening Post in 1903, at the age of 21 he created a bucking bronco – in a moment where he referred to his work as ‘a true solid American subject’. After returning from a few trips out west, he married Carolyn and they settled in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania in 1908. Commissions came in quickly and he hoped he would make enough money with his illustrations to be able to afford the luxury of painting. His hard work as an illustrator gave his family the financial freedom to follow their own artistic and scientific pursuits which was a good thing with five children who all went on with significant talents. But most was Andrew Wyeth, who also went on as a painter became one of the foremost American artists of the second half of the 20th century.

Around 1911, N.C. Wyeth moved away from Western subjects and on to illustrating classic literature but it wasn’t until the 1930′s when museums would purchase his paintings. Tragically, in 1945, he and his grandson were killed at a railroad passing, ending his career and life. This talented painter and father not only left outstanding art for future generations, but children and grandchildren who not only carry his name but carry outstanding talents of their own.

Andrew Wyeth – as stated above – became one of the foremost American artists of the second half of the 20th century. Andrew’s son, Jamie is also a painter and is currently exhibiting at the Brandywine River Museum with Seven Deadly Sins. Seven Deadly Sins features seabirds as dramatic sinners demonstrating their behavior as raucous scavengers.

Read more about the three generations of Wyeth artists.