American, 1882 - 1945
Wyeth was brought up on a farm under the discipline of daily chores. A penchant for drawing led his mother to send him to the Mechanic's Art School in Boston where he was trained as a draftsman graduating in 1899. Having decided on illustration as a career, he furthered his studies with the book illustrator C.W. Reed; at the Eric Pape School of Art; with George L. Noyes; and Charles H. Davis. In 1902 he entered the Howard Pyle School of Illustration in Wilmington, Delaware where he became Pyle's favorite student.
Wyeth was inspired in his art by the nature and life that surrounded him in his youth. He was fascinated with cowboys and indians and his illustration work was dramatic and action-packed. His first sale, "Bronco Buster," to the Curtis Publishing Company in 1903, appearing on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, brough him instant recognition. His first trip to the west was paid for by the magazines, and the result, "A Day With the Roundup," an illustrated adventure story, appeared in Scribner's in 1906. A second trip to the far west was sponsored by Outing Magazine in 1906 that same year.
Wyeth married Caroly (sp?) B. Bocius in 1906; the couple lived first in Wilmington, and then in 1908 settled on a farm in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, where they brought up five children. There Wyeth maintained his studio where he would set up the scenes he would paint, with his large array of authentic costumes and props.
Wyeth excelled equally well at book illustration: those done for Treasure Island (1911) inaugurated the Scribner Illustrated Classics series. His illustrations were done in oils. Later, under the influence of his son-in-law Peter Hurd, he began to work in tempera.
Wyeth's ambitions as an artist soon attracted him to mural painting where he could express his ideas with more freedom. His mural commissions include: a cycle for the Hotel Utica (1911) depicting the Woodland Indian, a theme he had treated often in illustration; two lunettes depicting Civil War battles for the Missouri State Capitol (1921); four ships murals and a map mural for the First National Bank of Boston (1924); "Half Moon in the Hudson Triptych" for the Hotel Roosevelt, New York (1924). He also painted the triptych for the Chapel of the Holy Spirit at the Washington Cathedral (1936). His last mural commission, a series on New England and the Pilgrims and four panels showing aquatic and game birds for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, were completed after his death by his son Andrew and his son-in-law John McCoy.
Wyeth exhibited his paintings at Macbeth Gallery (1939); memorial exhibitions were held at Knoedler's (1957) and at the William Penn Memorial Museum, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (1965).
Wyeth was inspired in his art by the nature and life that surrounded him in his youth. He was fascinated with cowboys and indians and his illustration work was dramatic and action-packed. His first sale, "Bronco Buster," to the Curtis Publishing Company in 1903, appearing on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, brough him instant recognition. His first trip to the west was paid for by the magazines, and the result, "A Day With the Roundup," an illustrated adventure story, appeared in Scribner's in 1906. A second trip to the far west was sponsored by Outing Magazine in 1906 that same year.
Wyeth married Caroly (sp?) B. Bocius in 1906; the couple lived first in Wilmington, and then in 1908 settled on a farm in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, where they brought up five children. There Wyeth maintained his studio where he would set up the scenes he would paint, with his large array of authentic costumes and props.
Wyeth excelled equally well at book illustration: those done for Treasure Island (1911) inaugurated the Scribner Illustrated Classics series. His illustrations were done in oils. Later, under the influence of his son-in-law Peter Hurd, he began to work in tempera.
Wyeth's ambitions as an artist soon attracted him to mural painting where he could express his ideas with more freedom. His mural commissions include: a cycle for the Hotel Utica (1911) depicting the Woodland Indian, a theme he had treated often in illustration; two lunettes depicting Civil War battles for the Missouri State Capitol (1921); four ships murals and a map mural for the First National Bank of Boston (1924); "Half Moon in the Hudson Triptych" for the Hotel Roosevelt, New York (1924). He also painted the triptych for the Chapel of the Holy Spirit at the Washington Cathedral (1936). His last mural commission, a series on New England and the Pilgrims and four panels showing aquatic and game birds for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, were completed after his death by his son Andrew and his son-in-law John McCoy.
Wyeth exhibited his paintings at Macbeth Gallery (1939); memorial exhibitions were held at Knoedler's (1957) and at the William Penn Memorial Museum, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (1965).
