Andrew Wyeth

Andrew Newell Wyeth (/ˈwaɪ.ɛθ/ WY-eth; July 12, 1917 – January 16, 2009) was a visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century.

In his art, Wyeth's favorite subjects were the land and people around him, both in his hometown of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and at his summer home in Cushing, Maine. Wyeth often noted: "I paint my life." One of the best-known images in 20th-century American art is his painting Christina's World, currently in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. This tempera was painted in 1948, when Wyeth was 31 years old.

Biography

Childhood

Andrew was the youngest of the five children of illustrator and artist N.C. (Newell Convers) Wyeth and his wife, Carolyn Bockius Wyeth. He was born July 12, 1917, on Henry Thoreau's 100th birthday. Due to N.C.'s fond appreciation of Henry Thoreau, he found this both coincidental and exciting. N.C. was an attentive father, fostering each of the children's interests and talents. The family was close, spending time reading together, taking walks, fostering "a closeness with nature" and developing a feeling for Wyeth family history.

Christina's World

Christina's World is a 1948 painting by American painter Andrew Wyeth, and one of the best-known American paintings of the middle 20th century. It depicts a woman lying on the ground in a treeless, mostly tawny field, looking up at a gray house on the horizon; a barn and various other small outbuildings are adjacent to the house.

This tempera work, done in a realist style, is currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, as a part of its permanent collection.

Background

The woman in the painting is Anna Christina Olson (3 May 1893 – 27 January 1968). She is known to have suffered from polio, a muscular deterioration that paralyzed her lower body. Wyeth was inspired to create the painting when he saw her crawling across a field while he was watching from a window in the house. Wyeth had a summer home in the area and was on friendly terms with Olson, using her and her younger brother as the subjects of paintings from 1940 to 1968. Although Olson was the inspiration and subject of the painting, she was not the primary model — Wyeth's wife Betsy posed as the torso of the painting. Olson was 55 at the time Wyeth created the work.

Andrew

Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s it was among the top ten most popular names for boys in English-speaking countries. In Italian, the equivalent to "Andrew" is "Andrea", though "Andrea" is feminine in most other languages. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived from the Greek: Ανδρέας, Andreas, itself related to Ancient Greek: ἀνήρ/ἀνδρός aner/andros, "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "strong", "courageous", and "warrior". In the King James Bible, the Greek "Ἀνδρέας" is translated as Andrew.

Popularity

Australia

In 2000, the name Andrew was the second most popular name in Australia. In 1999, it was the 19th most common name, while in 1940, it was the 31st most common name. Andrew was the first most popular boys name in the Northern Territory in 2003 to 2015 and continuing. In Victoria, Andrew was the first most popular name for a boy in the 1970s.

Canada

Andrew was the 20th most popular name chosen for male infants in 2005. Andrew was the 16th most popular name for infants in British Columbia in 2004, the 17th most popular name in 2003, and the 19th most popular name in 2002. In 2001, it was the 18th most common name. From 1999 – 2003, Andrew was the sixth most often chosen name for a boy.

Cushing, Maine

Cushing is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,534 at the 2010 census. A favorite of artists for its unspoiled natural setting, Cushing includes the villages of North Cushing, Cushing, South Cushing, and Pleasant Point.

History

Part of the Waldo Patent, it was called the Lower Plantation of St. Georges, once extending across both sides of the St. George River. It was first permanently settled in 1733 with Scots and Irish immigrants recruited from Ireland by Brigadier-General Samuel Waldo, who offered 100 acres (0.40 km²) for each household. Attacks during the French and Indian Wars, however, deterred habitation. A stone blockhouse known as Burton's Fort was built in 1753 by its commander, Captain Benjamin Burton. Hostilities finally ceased in 1759 with the Fall of Quebec. On January 28, 1789, the town was incorporated and named for Thomas Cushing, statesman and lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. On February 7, 1803, the town of St. George was set off and incorporated.

Chadds Ford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania

Chadds Ford Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, founded by Frederick Dunaway. United States, about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of the center of Philadelphia. Prior to 1996, Chadds Ford Township was known as Birmingham Township; the name was changed to allow the township to correspond to both its census-designated place and to distinguish itself from the adjacent Birmingham Township in Chester County. As of the 2010 census, Chadds Ford Township had a population of 3,640, up from 3,170 at the 2000 census.

Chadds Ford was home to N.C. Wyeth, his son Andrew Wyeth, and grandson Jamie Wyeth. The Brandywine Battlefield (site of the Battle of Brandywine) is located in the township, along with the Brandywine River Museum, which houses much of the Wyeth collection. Weldon Brinton Heyburn (1852–1912), a U.S. senator from Idaho, was born in Chadds Ford.

Geography

The township is the westernmost in Delaware County and is bordered to the west by Chester County and to the south by the state of Delaware. Brandywine Creek forms the western boundary of the township (and of Delaware County).