me arts ed

AN ACT TO DESIGNATE JULY 12th AS WYETH DAY

Andrew Wyeth The Murray House Watercolor on paper, 23X293/4" Colby College Museum of Art The Lunder Collection

Andrew Wyeth would have been 92 on July 12th. He passed away in January of this year and the State of Maine has set aside July 12th as an annual observance to honor him. Andrew, son Jamie and father, N.C. have made strong contributions to the State’s artistic and cultural heritage.

It was at the Olson farm in Cushing, Maine that Andrew painted his most famous image, Christina’s World, in 1948, and he continued over the next 50 years to paint Maine people and places. I always loved taking 8th graders to the Olson house when I taught.

Jamie presently has an exhibit at the Wyeth Center, at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, entitled Seven Deadly Sins. The exhibit will remain until August 30th. I recently saw an interview with Jamie on 207 where he talked about his strong relationship with his dad. They were wonderful critics for each others work.

In recognition of Wyeth Day there are resources and information available on the arts ed webpages at the Department. You can get there by clicking here. I realize the timing is poor because summer is just around the corner. You may not be able to use the resources this school year but know that the information will continue to be there.

At the link above you will learn about the activities planned for July 12th at the Farnsworth, please tell your students about them. Colby has a few Wyeth’s in their collection and have kindly given permission to use one of the pieces. Colby Museum is a great museum, I suggest you check out to plan a visit with your students.

And, if you have any lessons and/or units that you would like to share with others please contact me or leave a comment below.