N.C. Wyeth exhibit at BRM begins in March

Posted by Press Release on January 21, 2010

Landscapes
painted in a variety of impressionist styles and other works by N.C.
Wyeth--originally exhibited at the Philadelphia Sketch Club in 1912-- will be
on view at the Brandywine River Museum from March 20 through May 23, 2010.

N.
C. Wyeth and the Philadelphia Sketch Club brings together many of the
paintings Wyeth selected for his début exhibition and presents a fascinating
glimpse into early aspects of his artistic development. The exhibition is
organized in conjunction with the Philadelphia Sketch Club in honor of the
150th anniversary of its founding.

Already
a successful illustrator, Wyeth began to experiment with landscape painting
techniques about 1907. Well aware of the professional difference between
illustrators and other artists, Wyeth saw in landscape painting a pathway to
success in fine art, a field in which he aspired to "achieve real
distinction." For the next four years, he painted landscapes of the
Chadds Ford countryside, striving to acquire the "plain, solid, intimate
knowledge" he needed to express a creative strain illustrative work
largely denied him. Working in oil, he produced countless studies, many of
which he later painted over or destroyed.

Wyeth's
membership in the Philadelphia Sketch Club allowed him the first public showing
of his best landscape work. He selected 22 landscapes and 10
illustrations for an exhibition held in November 1912. It was the largest
exhibition to date devoted solely to his work and the first to include
non-illustrative pictures. The exhibition attracted much attention in the
Philadelphia and Wilmington press, with reviews ranging from favorable to
negative.

Although
the landscape paintings were executed in impressionistic styles that Wyeth
abandoned by 1915 or 1916, the period culminating in the exhibition was his
first concerted attempt to move away from the constraints of illustration.

To
commemorate its 150th anniversary, the Philadelphia Sketch Club Philadelphia is
coordinating exhibitions at several area museums and galleries. For a
complete list, visit their website at www.sketchclub.org.

From
March 20 through May 23, The Brandywine River Museum is also presenting the
exhibition Drawing from a Story:
Illustrations from Selected Caldecott Medal Winners. First awarded in
1938, the Caldecott Medal is considered the most prestigious award for
children's illustration. This exhibition will feature the works of
Caldecott winners from seven decades, including Dorothy Lathrop, David Wiesner,
Paul O. Zelinsky, Leo and Diane Dillon, Robert McCloskey, and Maurice Sendak,
among many others, including the 2010 medal winner, Jerry Pinkney.