Hello there
With all due respect, the painting you are asking about is titled
"That Gentleman" rather than "The Gentleman."
Andrew Wyeth, the youngest of five children is today considered the
most "collectible" of the American Realist Painters, one of the most
renowned artists in history.
Andrew Wyeth attended school until he was in the third grade and
contracted whooping cough which made him very prone to illness from
then on. His father and mother decided home schooling would be the way
to go. This was in the days before home schooling was accepted by the
state and that is another story. With no high school diploma,
university degree, or formal training in graphics, Andrew Wyeth has
had a wonderful career as an artist. Newell Convers Wyeth, Andrew's
father, was also a successful artist and provided the only training
Andrew ever received in graphics. His father's art can be seen in
classic novels such as Treasure Island and The Last of the Mohicans.
The painting "That Gentleman" belongs to the Dallas Museum of Art. It
is tempura on panel 23 1/2 x 47 3/4in.
"Wyeth's work often portrayed a sense of privacy, or even isolation.
He concentrated on the beauty of nature near his homes in Pennsylvania
and Maine. He also concentrated on particular models for subjects of
his paintings. In Maine, Christina Olsen and Siri Erikson were models
for many of his paintings. In Pennsylvania, Helga Testorf was the
subject of "the Helga series", a total of 240 paintings and drawings.
In addition to many other honors, he was elected to the National
Institute of Arts and Letters in 1945, and was the first artist to
receive the Congressional Gold Medal (1990). Among his most notable
works are Christina's World, Wind From the Sea, Distant Thunder,
Spring Fed, and That Gentleman." - Quote from Andrew Wyeth
Pennsylvania Biographies
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/4547/wyeth.html
The subject of the painting you are asking about is a man named Tom
Clark.
Talking about this painting, artist Andrew Wyeth said: Tom Clark went
about the business of living in a very orderly way. He would prepare
his vegetables with a deft grace, mend his clothes with care, lift the
lid of a kettle seconds before it would boil over, keep his wood stove
just the right temperature, place his slippers on a newspaper so as
not to soil the table top. This tall, thin gentleman always referred
to objects -- whether a potato, an annoying fly buzzing overhead, or a
car passing by -- as "that gentleman" (Boston Museum of Fine Arts, p.
95).
http://www.dallasmuseumofart.org/edu/teachingpackets/TP/LookingJourney/Artwork/LGen.htm
- website of the Dallas Museum of Art
Adjectives describing the painting might include resting, relaxed,
weary, old, still, unmoving. - That description is also from the
Dallas Museum of Art.
Since I am an anthropologist, I can see that Andrew Wyeth had much of
the anthropologist in him as well as a great empathy with some of his
subjects. For example, the following quote demonstrates fully his
dedication to and knowledge of his subjects: - "Once he is involved
deeply in a work, he begins to remember daydreams, memories, and
thoughts directly or indirectly pertaining to the subject matter.
These he tries also to incorporate into the work. He keeps in mind
the bare essentials because this also helps him become more
inquisitive about the subject. This deep involvement can become so
intense that he will try to become like his subject. Wyeth saturates
himself with the feel, tone, and thoughts of the subject matter.
Once, when doing a painting of Tom Clark which was later called That
Gentleman, he shaved his head bald, dyed his skin to the color of
Clarkís, who was a Negro, enlarged his nostrils, and tipped his eyes
with tape to look as much like his subject as possible. He did this
to get a better feel and perhaps give a better portrayal of Tom Clark
in That Gentleman."
Quote from "Andrew Wyeth" - http://zoidal20.tripod.com/matt/ResearchAW
The above article ends with: - "The time is past when one could
dismiss Wyeth as nothing more then sentimental illustrator"(Hughes
77). The great expression and depth of Wyethís paintings,
specifically [That Gentleman], Winter, and Christinaís World, can not
be overlooked. These three works transcend far above illustration." -
brackets mine
As Andrew Wyeth himself said: - ""I'm involved with the people I
paint. They become my friends, they're not people I paint and send
home."
Search - Google
Terms - andrew wyeth, that gentleman
If I may clarify anything, please ask.
Cheers
digsalot |
