Wyeth - "Window Light" Realistic watercolor painting of lighthouse viewed through a window with shells on the windowsill and small portion of the water visible

Andrew Wyeth • American 1917-2009

Window Light C: 1980 • Watercolor on Paper 29 3/8” x 21 1/2”

“Leave the light on.” This traditional greeting has added meaning in the hands of Andrew Wyeth. He owned the Tenants Harbor Light in Maine and it played an important role in perpetuating the most famous family of artists in the world.

Andrew, the second artist in this famous line, purchased the Tenants Harbor Light, the subject of this painting, in 1978. It had been decommissioned in 1932 after 75 years of service. Andrew built his painting studio in a pyramid-shaped bell tower on the property.

Andrew’s father, N.C., was one of America’s premier illustrators, known for his work on such masterpieces as Treasure Island. N.C. was his son’s only artistic teacher and kept his children close to his side. In Andrew’s words, “Pa kept me almost in a jail, just kept me to himself in my own world, and he wouldn’t let anyone in on it. I was almost made to stay in Robin Hood’s Sherwood Forest with Maid Marion and the rebels.”

N.C. died when his car stalled at a train crossing in 1941. This tragedy forced Andrew out of the nest and freed him to develop the mature style that won him both fame and fortune.

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Now, can you see how this painting might carry more emotional freight than first thought? Imagine yourself a mature artist looking out through confining windows at the light that guided your life. Are you still trapped inside, or are you the small bird perched on the rail, ready to take flight?

One more thing: Andrew’s son, Jamie is also a world-famous artist. Today, he lives beside this lighthouse and uses the same bell tower studio originally built by his father. Three generations of talented Wyeth’s, captured in one solitary lighthouse along the rocky coast of Maine.

Epilogue: Both Andrew and Jamie Wyeth have used Tenants Harbor Light as subjects in a number of paintings. Below are two that show their subtly different painting styles.

*Jamie Wyeth: Sunset, Southern Island (1995)*

See more work by Andrew Wyeth in the slide show below:

Canton Museum of Art Permanent Collection • Purchased in Memory of E. Souers, 84.38

4 Ways to Sound Smart When Viewing at The Canton Museum of Art

1.
“If that lighthouse looks familiar, it is because it has been the subject of numerous paintings by both Andrew Wyeth and his son Jamie. If Andrew’s father had lived long enough, he would have painted it, too.”

2.
“The Wyeths, N.C., Andrew and Jamie, formed the most famous family in American art.”

3.
“Say, isn’t this the guy who painted all those secret paintings of his neighbor’s caretaker, Helga?”

4.
“He was known for intense character studies of a select few neighbors, who repeatedly posed for him over long periods of time.”

BONUS: “Andrew Wyeth’s only art teacher was his father N.C.”

Wyeth Timeline. Scroll over images to see timeline.

1917

Born in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, to Carolyn Bockius Wyeth and her husband, the famed illustrator Newell Convers (N.C.) Wyeth. He was born on the birthday of Henry Thoreau, one of his father’s favorite authors. Andrew was the youngest of five children. It was a close-knit family where the children lived a sheltered life with a strong father figure. Many celebrities spent time in their house.

1920s

Received the only art lessons he ever had in his father’s studio. N.C. inspired a love of nature and rural traditions in all his children.

1930s

Began painting Anna and Karl Kuerner, his neighbors in Chadds Ford. They, and their farm, became important subjects for nearly 50 years. While visiting the Kuerner’s farm he became familiar with their caregiver, Helga Testorf, who would figure prominently in his later work.

1937

The Macbeth Gallery in New York City staged the first exhibition of watercolors by Andrew Wyeth. The entire inventory of paintings sold out in an hour.

1940

Married Betsy James whom he had met a year earlier in Maine. Betsy managed his career throughout their married life. The Wyeth’s had two sons, Jamie and Nicholas.

1945

N.C. Wyeth, along with Andrew's 3-year old nephew, was killed when his car stalled at a railroad crossing and was hit by a train. Later in life, Andrew Wyeth recalled this tragedy as one of the biggest influences on his artistic career.

1948

Painted “Christina’s World”, his most famous image. It depicts his crippled neighbor, Christina Olson, sprawled on a dry field reaching for her house in the distance. The property was later designated a National Historic Landmark due to Wyeth’s fame.

1963

Became the first painter to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President John F. Kennedy.

1977

Became the first American artist since John Singer Sargent elected to the French Academie des Beaux-Arts. Singer had lived most of his life in Paris.

1978

Purchased Tenants Harbor Light, a decommissioned lighthouse on Southern Island, Maine. This became his summer home and, eventually, the home and studio of his son Jamie. The property is the subject of many paintings by both Andrew and Jamie Wyeth.

1980

Became the first living American artist elected to Britain’s Royal Academy.

1986

The “Helga” paintings caused an international stir when a series of 247 studies of Helga Testorf are revealed to the public. These works had been made between 1971 and 1985 without the knowledge of either Wyeth’s wife or Helga’s husband, leading to speculation of a romantic interest that was never proven or acknowledged.

1987

Collector Leonard E.B. Andrews, purchased almost all the Helga paintings to keep the collection intact.

1988

Received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the United States Legislature.

2007

He was awarded the National Medal of Arts from President George W. Bush.

2009

He died in his sleep at his home in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, after a brief illness. He was 91 years old and is buried in the Olson Family Plot in Cushing, Maine.