Customer Reviews

Wondrous Strange : The Wyeth Tradition

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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 we lost power due to a snow storm, I found the views conjured stories up in my mind to match the Wondrously Strange images. I've driven by the Wyeth Center a thousand times, but made a point to visit to see for my self. I'm also fortunate to have a copy signed by Jamie Wyeth, and hope to keep as a treasure for a long time.

The images floor me. If a picture is worth a thousand words.... then this collection speaks incalculable volumes.

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 Jaime Wyeth 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.

We saw the exhibit in September and I bought the book as a reminder of the awe and joy I felt looking at the originals. The book lives up to the exhibit. A feast for the eyes, the book captures well the power and talent of Pyle and the Wyeths.

This is a stunning book! The authors have assembled interesting text and beautiful prints to give the reader an in-depth look at the Wyeth's work and the ties to Pyle. This book is worth the purchase for the Jamie Wyeth painting on the front cover. Thankfully, there are many more rewards inside!

This book is a collection of the paintings included in an exhibit which will be at the Delaware Art Museum in December -- works by Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth, & Jamie Wyeth, chosen particularly because of their "wondrous" and "strange" way of looking at the world. A glossy, colorful, and exciting book featuring the progression of artistic technique from generation to generation! Something of interest for everyone.

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!