Wyeth’s Windows

Wyeth’s Windows

I am taking a journey today to the view, looking in and out of windows, through the eyes of Andrew Wyeth, a singular water colorist and master egg tempera painter (actually adding egg yolk to tempera paint). Andrew Wyeth was a regional and rural artist with a superb technical eye to detail whose draftsmanship was praised, but in his later years, as abstract expressionism became the widely accepted mode of modern art, he was regarded as out of step with the art world. He died a solitary man in 2009, at 91. I have a particular connection to Andrew Wyeth as my grandmother greatly admired his paintings and I visited his studio and farmhouse, in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania where much of his work was painted. Chadds Ford has an eerie mystery of sadness and as you ascend the stairs, you feel the presence of this pensive, sorrowful artist. Andrew Wyeth’s spirit is infused not only in his art, but suffused through his studio and house.

Rural scene with old farm buildings, leafless trees, a wooden fence, and birds in muted earthy tones

 Andrew Wyeth’s Studio, Part 2, 1948

Andrew Wyeth created over 300 works of art on windows and May through November of this year, the National Gallery of Art is exhibiting a special show of just the window paintings. With Wyeth’s and my own fascination with windows, I am taking another look through his windows and dedicating a few thoughts about this impressive but austere man and “Wyeth’s Windows.”

 

Watercolor painting of a window with a view of a cloudy sky and dark landscape, in a gray room

 Dock Lights, 2003

Andrew Wyeth explored windows using many visual perspectives, from far and near, outside and inside, from ground level to upper levels, through curtains, still and flowing. His view through these windows, while always attentive and sharp, are often filled with melancholy and a moodiness and drabness of palette. His painterly outlook through windows does not elicit a bright or lucent feeling but his use of the geometric shape of windows is remarkable in portraying an elusive isolation and stillness of moment.

 

A rustic bedroom with a wooden four-poster bed, white bedding, and a sleeping dog, window with snow outside, muted colors

Master Bedroom, 1965 

View of a kitchen table with a white plate and cup near a window with multiple panes, showing a rural scene outside

Groundhog Day, 1959

Woman in a blue dress sitting on a bed, looking out a window in a softly lit bedroom

 Chambered Nautilus, 1956

Even though Wyeth’s Studio, below, and the sunlight sparkling in through the Kuemer Farmhouse where he also drew inspiration from many of his paintings, are illuminated with brilliant light, Wyeth seems to ponder the sadness and deep emotion underlying his landscapes and artful tableaus.

Interior window with black roller shade, green field outside, hats and lantern on windowsill, sunlight streaming inChadds Ford Studio

Sunlit room with two large windows, a white corner cabinet, a small table, and a wooden chair with sunlight casting shadowsKuemer Farmhouse

 Wyeth was also a master of light and shadow and his obsession with windows must have been rooted in continuous exploration of the transparency of windows and the layers of light spreading through his paintings.

Room interior with two large windows, pink curtains, a wooden table, and sunlight streaming through the windows

Her Room, 1963

Interior scene with a window, yellow coat, black hat, and camera hanging on a hook, sunlight streaming through the window

Squall, 1986

Interior scene with a window and a wooden chair, warm yellow light, dark shadows, and textured walls in a painting style

Blue Door, 1952

White dog lying on bed in room with dark door, fireplace, patterned rug, sunlight casting shadows

Harlequin, 1997

Wyeth’s most iconic window painting of a floating, diaphanous curtain over an open window, invites the viewer to look, remember and reminisce, as memories are filtered through the gauze of the window of time. Wyeth beckons us inside and outside the window to contemplate the mystery and story that lies within and without.

A window with sheer, flowing curtains partially drawn, revealing a landscape outside

Wind From the Sea, 1947

Close-up of a cracked, weathered transparent window overlooking fields and trees in the distance

Close-up

Close-up of a window with sheer curtains, showing a landscape outside with fields and trees

 

Andrew Wyeth’s, piercing but poetic window paintings, capture a seriousness and steadfastness of spirit that lingers, as his gaze sharpens a moment in time.

Close-up black-and-white photo of an elderly man with curly gray hair, wearing a high-collared dark coat, looking serious

Photo by Lord Snowdon, 1983

Wyeth’s windows to his world are intimations of expectation and promises to be fulfilled.

 

Blue open window with a view of a grassy landscape and a small stream, in a painting style

Love in the Afternoon, 1992