Editorial Review Product Description A splendid look at the "wondrous strange" paintings of four great artists--Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth, and James Wyeth--published in conjunction with a major traveling exhibition, running from June 1998 through February 1999. 130 color illustrations.Amazon.com Review Demonic eyes shining out of a shadowy tree. A blind manstaggering through a moonlit landscape. Disembodied, dark hands risingout of snow. A feral dog with one blue eye. Ambiguous shadowsharboring human shapes. These are but a few of the eerie images inthis mesmerizing, wondrous book. There are four artists representedhere: three generations of Wyeth men--N.C., Andrew, and James--andHoward Pyle, artistically speaking the father of them all. An essay oneach artist precedes a generous selection of stunning, full-size,color plates of his work; the essay on Andrew is written by his wife,Betsy. It is Betsy who originally conceived of the exhibition that ledto the book. David Michaelis, author of a new biography of N.C.,writes, "The intensity of her relationship with all three Wyeths makesher the true linking figure in what has too often been simplified as amale succession." The simple chronological ordering of the book, from Pyle to hisstudent N.C. Wyeth, to N.C.'s son Andrew, to Andrew's son James, turnsout to have a peculiar power. The gaudy, tricky, glorious too-muchnessof both Pyle and James make illustrational bookends around the moresubtly drawn histrionics of N.C. and Andrew. It might come as asurprise to fans of Andrew's uniquely sublime naturalistic gifts thathe possesses an uncanny streak of surrealism, which he couches in hisotherwise orderly realism. The book as a whole should give hours andhours of pleasure to Pyle and Wyeth fans of all persuasions andgenerations. --Peggy Moorman ... Read more Customer Reviews (7)
Too many Wyeth's
N.C. Wyeth is the top of the heap when it comes to illustrators. A visit to his Brandywine museum reveals his work to be even more stunning in real life. There is not a good retrospective collection of his work--even in the Brandywine bookstore--and I was hoping this book would be one.
I was sorely disappointed.
Having Pyle in the book, and seeing the work of the student compared to his master is really great. It offers important insight into the development of N.C. as an artist.
The inclusion of Andrew can't be too criticized, his work is fantastic. I have been a fan of his for a long time. However, as an illustrator, I was looking more for the other commercial illustrators who worked in the "Wyeth Tradition."
I revile James's work. The fact that any pages of this book were wasted with his paintings made this book repugnant to me.
So, for me, the book doesn't make sense.
Pyle, to N.C., professional illustrators.
N.C. to his son and grandson, we veer of that path. As an illustrator and one who worships at the feet of N.C. Wyeth, I wanted to stay on it. (The argument could be made, and probably has, that all are a descendant artistically of Pyle, and while there is some merit, sure, I say--for the most part--balderdash!!!)
This is not a comprehensive N.C. Wyeth, nor illustrators of his time, book.
BAH!
An Important Overview of a Century of Americana
For many years it has been the practice of critics and art aficionados to relegate "popular artists" the likes of Norman Rockwell and the Wyeth clan to the bin of kitsch.Time heals and alters and distance is kind as the current resurgence of appreciation of these and other artists of the land testifies.Norman Rockwell now is considered an important American artist, sensitive to basic issues of what makes America the land of the common man's dream.With this beautifully designed and written tome the same adulation should follow for the Wyeth clan.The authors (Betsy Wyeth among them) had the good idea to show the seeds of the very familiar Wyeth imagery in the work of Howard Pyle, an artist known primarily as an illustrator along the lines of over the edge fantasy adventure books.His pupil N.C. Wyeth took up the torch, primarily emulating Pyle's style but taking it to a new level.His works of isolation, thwarted desire, and simple American traditions are absorbed by his son Andrew Wyeth who won favor among collectors of realist art during the time the country was running after Modernism, Expresionism, Abstraction. And finally Jaime Wyeth, son of Andrew, has been a constant presence with his quasi-surreal take on many of the same subjects as his progenitors.The circle comes round with Pyle and JaimeWyeth embracing the more perverse subjects - an interesting century wheel turning round and round. The color reproductions are generous and well selected.Many of the well know Wyeth images are excluded, but in their place we are treated to images we have never seen.This is a beautiful volume and a tender one, a memento of what our childhood in the 20th Century was like before the madness currently painted hit.
amazing
The images floor me.If a picture is worth a thousand words....then this collection speaks incalculable volumes.
For the non-art initiated, the book is a feast for the imagl
For the non-art initiated, the book is a feast for the imagination as well as the eyes. I bought the book because I come from the mid-coast of Maine, like the Wyeths. But when I took the time to look at the book on a night welost power due to a snow storm, I found the views conjured stories up in mymind to match the Wondrously Strange images. I've driven by the WyethCenter a thousand times, but made a point to visit to see for my self. I'malso fortunate to have a copy signed by Jamie Wyeth, and hope to keep as atreasure for a long time.
Helps keep the original images fresh
We saw the exhibit in September and I bought the book as a reminder of theawe and joy I felt looking at the originals. The book lives up to theexhibit. A feast for the eyes, the book captures well the power and talentof Pyle and the Wyeths.
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