Demonic eyes shining out of a shadowy tree. A blind man staggering through a moonlit landscape. Disembodied, dark hands rising out of snow. A feral dog with one blue eye. Ambiguous shadows harboring human shapes. These are but a few of the eerie images in this mesmerizing, wondrous book. There are four artists represented here: three generations of Wyeth men--N.C., Andrew, and James--and Howard Pyle, artistically speaking the father of them all. An essay on each 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 led to the book. David Michaelis, author of a new biography of N.C., writes, "The intensity of her relationship with all three Wyeths makes her the true linking figure in what has too often been simplified as a male succession."
The simple chronological ordering of the book, from Pyle to his student N.C. Wyeth, to N.C.'s son Andrew, to Andrew's son James, turns out to have a peculiar power. The gaudy, tricky, glorious too-muchness of both Pyle and James make illustrational bookends around the more subtly drawn histrionics of N.C. and Andrew. It might come as a surprise to fans of Andrew's uniquely sublime naturalistic gifts that he possesses an uncanny streak of surrealism, which he couches in his otherwise orderly realism. The book as a whole should give hours and hours of pleasure to Pyle and Wyeth fans of all persuasions and generations. --Peggy Moorman
Wondrous Strange: The Wyeth Tradition FROM OUR EDITORS
The legendary Wyeth clan is a wellspring of creative energy. From an idea conceived by Betsy James Wyeth, this volume compares and contrasts the work of N. C. Wyeth, his son Andrew Wyeth, grandson James Wyeth, and N. C.'s mentor, Howard Pyle. Thirty works by each artist are presented and discussed, and the result is an intriguing study of the fantastic in the everyday, the role of the wondrous in the human imagination. Published in conjunction with an exhibition that recently traveled around the country.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
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.
SYNOPSIS
Wondrous Strange: The Wyeth Tradition gathers together in one volume the works of three generations of Wyeths (father N. C., son Andrew, and grandson James) as well as the man who taught and inspired the patriarch of that celebrated clan, illustrator Howard Pyle. This project, as conceived by Betsy James Wyeth, focuses on the thread that she sees running through the work of the four men: "the incarnation of the fantastic in everyday reality." The book's paintings, 30 by each artist, do project a sense of mystery and emotion (and often danger), or as Susan C. Larsen phrases it in her introduction, the book is "full of literary flights of fancy, exotic adventures, spiritual journeys, romantic encounters, and children's fables played out on the stage of ordinary life." Fans of each of these talented artists will relish the opportunity to view their work alongside that of their family members and mentor, and those unfamiliar with the work of the Wyeths will find here a delightful introduction to their world.
Art & Photography
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