Painting lives in the hearts and souls of the Wyeth family.
While the paintings and illustrations of N.C. Wyeth stand out from the realistic works of his son Andrew and grandson Jamie, N. C. passed on his skills and deep passion for the artform to subsequent generations of the Wyeth family.
"My family has this mantra; it's called 'I paint my life,'" says Victoria Wyeth, Andrew's granddaughter. "You paint what you know and what you love."
A collection of 66 paintings now on display at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture features art by N. C., Andrew and Jamie, plus several pieces by N. C.'s daughter Henriette and one from her husband, Peter Hurd.
N. C., whose full name was Newell Convers Wyeth, was born in 1882 and is best known for his book illustrations featuring bold colors, expressive characters and strong narrative elements.
"You feel like there's something going on there and there's a story there," says Kayla Tackett, the MAC's Director of Exhibitions and Collections. "Sometimes you can figure it out on your own, sometimes you can't, but there's a story going on."
Throughout "The Wyeths: Three Generations" exhibit, viewers can see large-scale versions of N. C.'s illustrations paired with first-edition copies of the books they were made for, as well as the printing materials he used for some of the illustrations.
"He'd get the text, and then he would prefer to illustrate things that weren't very clearly described in the book," Tackett says. "He liked to kind of fill in that picture for the readers."
To encourage people to donate blood during World War II, N. C. was commissioned by the U.S. government to paint his famous scene for Marines Landing on the Beach. Grandson Jamie followed a similar path when commissioned to create the cover for the New York Observer following 9/11.
In four paintings in the collection, Henriette Wyeth depicts her loved ones and surroundings — subject matter also found in her artist family members' works.
"Henriette isn't as well known, but as you can tell, no less accomplished than the rest of her family," Tackett says.
Henriette's husband, Peter Hurd, was a student of N. C.'s but also introduced the family to egg tempera paint. While N. C.'s signature was oil paint, Andrew and Jamie grew fond of egg tempera, along with watercolors, both of which became media they used frequently.
Many of Andrew's paintings employ more subdued colors and provide a realist representation of his subjects. His Antler Crown, for example, depicts an ornate antler arrangement hanging above a pine tree with an outdoor scene in the background.
"He also has this interest in depicting things but manipulating them," Tackett says. "It's the kind of image that you look at and can walk past, but the second you start looking at it more, you start to wonder, what am I looking at here?"
Many of Andrew's works in the collection are seascapes of light, breezy East Coast settings.
"A lot of these seascapes really evoke summer travel," Tackett says. "It makes you want to go to the beach."
Andrew's granddaughter Victoria was very close with him, and she notes the sense of tragedy and emotion he effortlessly weaved into his art. She says this is partly due to N. C.'s death in 1945, when he and his 3-year-old grandson were killed by a train colliding with their car.
"Andy had this very incredible ability to feel things powerfully but then communicate what he felt in a way that everybody else could feel it," Victoria says. "The emotion that he captures is timeless."
Jamie Wyeth is the only living artist represented in the exhibit. His father, Andrew, died in 2009, yet Jamie's pieces also draw from the family's mantra of painting lifelike scenes while incorporating experimental mediums, colors and styles that set him apart.
Consider Jamie's painting The Church, which features vibrant yellows and greens against neutral whites and blacks. The Tempest is similar, with a use of saturated colors not often seen in many of his father or grandfather's paintings. Many of Jamie's realist pieces, meanwhile, capture the Wyeth family signatures.
A common motif for Jamie is animals, such as Number 86 of a brown-and-white spotted cow.
There's also a jovial sense of humor present in much of his art, says Tackett. Two paintings, Warm Halloween and Pumpkinhead Visits the Lighthouse, feature pumpkins, another prevalent subject in much of Jamie's art.
"I think Pumpkinhead is actually a stand-in for Jamie himself," Tackett says. "There are other paintings of this Pumpkinhead character that represents him."
To Tackett, there's something familiar, relatable and striking about the Wyeths' art that makes it so enthralling to many.
"With all three generations, there's something for everybody," Victoria says. "Someone that loves color and action is going to be drawn to N.C.'s illustrations. Someone that loves animals and humor and color is going to be really drawn to [Jamie's] compositions. Some people really hate [Andrew's] work, which I understand, but others really love it."
Due to the Wyeths' deep ties to the East Coast, Tackett says having this collection in Spokane is a really incredible opportunity.
"It's really rare to have this many Wyeths' in one place, especially here on the west side of the U.S.," she says. ♦
The Wyeths: Three Generations: Works from the Bank of America Collection • May 13-Aug. 20, open Tue-Sun 10 am-5 pm, third Thursdays from 10 am-8 pm • Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture • 2316 W. First Ave. • northwestmuseum.org • 509-456-3931
