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He is descended from Nicholas Wyeth, a stonemason who settled in Massachusetts from England in 1645. His subsequent ancestors played prominent roles in the French and Indian Wars, the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War. This made for a rich oral histories and tradition within the Wyeth family and provided a connection to much of the subject matter for his art. Wyeth's mother encouraged his artistic development from early on. His maternal ancestors were from Switzerland. As a child, his mother was acquainted with Henry David Thoreau and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. His appreciation of literature is credited to her. The eldest of four brothers, Wyeth spent much of his youth hunting, fishing and working his family's farm. These activities, combined with his well developed sense of observation sustained his inspiration for illustrations and essentially eliminated any need for models. By the age of 12, Wyeth was producing exceptional watercolor paintings. Wyeth was the prodigal understudy of artist Howard Pyle and became one of America's most iconic illustrators and artists. He attended Mechanics Arts School to study drafting and then the Massachusetts Normal Arts School and the Eric Pape School of Art to learn illustration, under the supervision of George L. Noyes and Charles W. Reed. In 1902, Wyeth was invited to join two friends who had been accepted to Howard Pyle's School of Art in Wilmington, Delaware and Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Pyle was considered the "Father of American Illustration," and Wyeth quickly grasped Pyle's methods and artistic philosophy. Excursions to historical sites and spontaneous dramas involving costumes and props, were common approaches Pyle took with his students. These were intended to stimulate emotion, imagination, atmosphere and observation of humans-in-action. Pyle's lessons stressed historical accuracy and bore hints of romance. However, where Pyle's work focused on exquisite detail, Wyeth tended toward looser, quicker strokes, relying heavily on ominous shadows and moody background themes. He may have adopted his glazing technique from Pyle. He created over 3,000 paintings and illustrated some 112 books, in the course of his 50-year career. He is best known for his illustrations in Scribner's Magazine and publishing company. Wyeth was a realist painter at a time when photography began to compete with this craft. Often viewed as melodramatic, Wyeth's illustrations were designed for quick and easy comprehension. He worked as both a painter and an illustrator, understanding the difference, saying, "Painting and illustration cannot be mixed—one cannot merge from one into the other," in 1908. (incomplete)..... Contact
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