About letting education get in the way of your enthusiasm to make art: I've always thought that art principals should be presented as tools, not rules! Which ones you use and which ones you discard depend on what you are trying to do. Also, if you try to hold all the rules in your head at once, it can make you sort of self-conscious and insecure about your art attempts. Better to barge ahead and get the idea down and THEN use rules to see if they will improve it or not.

As a boy growing up in Needham, Mass, NC Wyeth hardly read at all. He was too busy riding horses and doing chores on his family's farm. When he started doing illustrations he fell in love with classic literature. He would read his assignments first for the story, try to figure out whether it was well written or not, then read again to find the points worth illustrating. Publishers generally gave him complete freedom. He often picked a scene or subject that was not well described in the story, in order to enlarge on and flesh out the material that stimulated him. Reading is key to an understanding of art. As an art collector I like to read and get an understanding of motivation--particularly what turns artists on. Critics do not always get to this understanding, although they sometimes do. It's the artists themselves who disclose their lives and feelings beyond thir work. I think the habit of writing reinforces their resolve and direction.

Robert, you say the "early paintings were huge." How big were they?

"Blind Pew" is 47 x 38 inches which is about the standard size he painted the Scribners ones.

I would have lost it had someone said my illustrations were not "real art." Some of the finest representation of American genre is from our great illustrators. John Clymer wryly commented, "I paint the best I can do in two days, not the best I can do." His point was well taken. Deadlines produce spontaneity in illustration other works sometimes lack. When I see the complexity and finished quality of some illustrations I wonder how they arrived there, knowing the speed in which the work was completed. It seems illustrators have perfected the "hourglass" exercise discussed in an earlier clickback.

Your tour of the historic galleries and art of New York, Washington and Chadds Ford doesn't mention what a mess we are in. New York is dirty, distracted and desperate. Greed still stalks the tall towers and the previous all-the-rage junk art is in free-fall. Washington's pristine parks are alive with jogging and cycling lobbyists on their day's off. Chadds Ford is a microcosm of what America once was and may not become again. In times like these it is no wonder that nostalgia and sentimentality are once again in vogue and will continue to be so. America needs to wake up. America doesn't know what's happening to her. One only needs to look at the earnest and dedicated young people of Tunis or Tientsin to see into the near and distant future.

Occasionally I reply to your wonderful letters, but this time I really have to do it. N.C. Wyeth was a great illustrator, one who brought the richness of life's experience and his sensibility to his work. His son, Andrew is, was, a mediocre illustrator, who unwittingly rode on his very talented father's coattails. He was not a painter, and his son, Jamie, was a sad reminder of how talent can be dissipated over generations. What a travesty. I wish this was not the case, but it is my sense of the Wyeth dynasty. Yet, having been to Brandywine several times over the years, I only cherish N.C. Wyeth, whose honest response to literary content and pictorial imagery will never die.
Valerie Seligsohn Associate Professor of Art, Moore College of Art,
Philadelphia, PA

Looking at N.C. Wyeth's painted illustrations one can indeed be struck by the vigour of his brushstrokes. His 1912 Train Robbery indeed looks as if it could have been painted wet in wet, with no subsequent retouching. Many other paintings, however, look heavily painted: just look at the whites in The Vedette, and though the bottom half of Blind Pew looks sketchy, the top half shows that it was painted in various sittings. I can look at his work with a cool eye, but I prefer to let myself be drawn into them, no doubt because of the storybooks illustrated by N.C. Wyeth which I read as a child. As paintings they are attractive because of their bravado and imaginative compositions, but as "free art" they also suffer because of the strictly anecdotal basis from which they were derived. His painted illustrations brought the man fame and life's comforts, but they also kept him trapped as an artist.

His son Andrew must have sensed this early on, and chose to follow a different, and more personal path, to become one of the truly great realists of the 20th century.

Years ago, I got the chance to go to the Brandywine museum and see all the amazing works by NC Wyeth, Howard Pyle, and others. As far as I am concerned, NC Wyeth was one of the great painters of his time and the biggest shame is that back then, as well as today, illustration is not regarded as "True Art". If you want to know how to really paint realistically, take a trip to Brandywine and spend the most amount of time you can studying the works by these great masters.

Welcome!!
I am glad you have finally made to my part of the world. It is a good time of the year to be here. Our fall colors are beginning to become full. Leaves are just starting to fall.
I hope you enjoyed the sunshine of yesterday. The rain is to be with us for short time.again.

Have a good stay and drink in all there is to see.

Your description of the Chadds Ford area really brought it back to life for me. I have always been a big fan of all the Wyeths and have always been amazed they all paint so different, each in their own way.

Oh how those paintings bring back visions of my childhood and my eyes as big as saucers just looking at the illustrations. I have great admiration and respect for illustrators and artists who can create a scene on canvas or paper out of their head. That is great art. Looking at a photograph or painting in plein air as a reference is fine, and yes, it gives artists an opportunity to be inspired to create something more, but oh the artist who can create an entire vision out of his mind's eye. N.C. Wyeth was a phenomenal artist, and his success paved the way for his children to seek their passions in art as well. I think Treasure Island was one of his greatest series of works and one that he is most remembered for. A bit of trivia for you - did you know that the work he did on Treasure Island paid off his home? It did. If only I could be so fortunate.

Thank you for highlighting one of my favorite artists of all time. I love that fact that you pointed out his vitality and lust for life, this is what endears NC to me. I wish I was in Brandywine!

For anyone who wishes to know more about N.C. Wyeth there is an excellent book: The Wyeths by N.C. Wyeth - edited by Betsy James Wyeth - The Intimate Correspondence of N.C. Wyeth 1901-1945 - Published by Gambit

It is currently out of print by can be obtained second-hand on-line. The book gives and excellent view of the art world in the first half of the 20th century and an insight into the professional and personal life of one of the great illustrators.

How serendipitous Bob! I planned a trip out there this week that got derailed. It's been a couple of years since I was out to Brandywine, yet autumn always make me think of it... NC's art, the Wyeth's legacy, the smell of NC's great studio with the huge Northern exposure windows and mile high ceilings, where those magnificent pieces of his came to life. It sure would have been a kick running into you there!

This is one of the saddest lines I've ever read:"Pa made many dramatic changes in his life; reacting to specific artists," says Andrew. "Even my influence was not good for him. My father lost his excitement for painting. He lost the vitality." Makes me believe even more strongly than ever that I need to let go of all the influences that bark at me to change and just be and do what God made me to be and do. But figuring out what that is not always easy to find. One thing in this statement, though, is helpful "excitement for painting". Finding and keeping that sense of joy, challenge and fun is key for me to retain and find that excitement.

I too am a huge Wyeth fan, mostly Andrew, but also N.C., and Jamie. It was Andrew's work that when I was a teenager, made me want to learn more and become a better artist. It is interesting, too, to note that along with the nostalgia for the illustrator N.C. Wyeth there is a revival in interest in Norman Rockwell's work. Another one who was dismissed as not a real "artist" but only an "illustrator". He captured moments in small town America of over a half a century ago, and spent a lot of time planning his work, but somehow because it was for commercial purposes, it is seen as not as important as "fine art". However, that is changing. It is a shame that N.C. was badgered, and felt he needed to change, by critics, who are frequently off the mark with some sort of purist agenda. The work was spectacular and speaks for itself. We are now starting to see beyond the labels, to the heart of the work and letting it speak for itself. About time!

Hey, Robert--I know you have no shortage of topics to discuss, but do you think that you could throw in another discussion of "illustration" versus "fine art?" It seems we haven't had one in a while, and I'd be interested in hearing what you and other folks have to say about the two.

I have to disagree with Valerie, who said that Andrew Wyeth is a mediocre painter. His art is different from his father's, of course -- more restrained and bleak. But he captures the feeling of a farm or field in winter, the melancholy of dry brown grass and the enduring solidity of the earth and her people in the quiet seasons better than anyone. They are painting different things, different ideas.

I was at the Brandywine ten years or so ago, and I toured the studio of NC also. But the greatest thrill was taking side roads and running across Kearner's farm & looking up the hills where andrew painted the evergreen trees. I even ran across where NC was hit by the train. I believe Andrew was the best of the three, as far as pulling at my heart with his melancholy. NC was a close second, but I have never felt any connection to Jamie's art.

I was an illustrator for over 30 years and believe me there is nothing like that discipline for improving skills...deadlines and revisions were a fact of life and there was no time to wait for "inspiration" and no excuses accepted by art directors. Many illustrators are among the best and truest artists ever, and it is about time that area of the art world was given its due respect and admiration.

"Lucky family" possibly, but highly disfunctional within the family, and suffered a tragedy that few would accept as a fair trade for the fame and fortune.

I enjoyed seeing your letter on N C Wyeth and mention of Howard Pyle. I studied Illustration and have seen and admired their works, both in original form and in the Scribners books. Thank you.

Having more work created in the realm of drawings, and still developing as a painter, I find that I am favoring the methods and style of James MacNeill Whistler. I wonder if you would write any thoughts you might have of this master.

My mother used to pick up volumes of a classics series when shopping in the 1950's. They were discounted as an inducement to shop, as were sets of flat and stone wares. I got to enjoy not only some ripsnorting yarns-- perfect for a youngster-- but to see some classic illustrations. What a great memory!