N. C. Wyeth : A Biography

Rating:
Summary: Biography At Its Best
Review: Although I was familiar with the paintings of Andrew & Jamie Wyeth, I wasn't aware of N.C. until I read his letters in Dorie McCullough Lawson's wonderful collection, "Posterity: Letters of Great Americans to Their Children." The brilliant writing in those letters, and the story of the tragic accident that killed him and his little grandson, made me want to know more. It led me to this book. I've just finished it, and can't stop thinking about it. If a novelist made up this saga, one might say it was just too fantastic. And yet the most fantastic thing of all is that it's true. David Michaelis weaves the tale, not just of N.C. Wyeth, but of his family and his times. Although so many people are introduced, the writing is clear and vibrant, and one never loses track of who's who. No novel could be more compelling than this saga, with twists and turns that almost had me gasping. Biography just doesn't get any better than this. Whether or not you're interested in Art, it is well worth your time. Bravo to Mr. Michaelis!

Rating:
Summary: Biography At Its Best
Review: Although I was familiar with the paintings of Andrew & Jamie Wyeth, I wasn't aware of N.C. until I read his letters in Dorie McCullough Lawson's wonderful collection, "Posterity: Letters of Great Americans to Their Children." The brilliant writing in those letters, and the story of the tragic accident that killed him and his little grandson, made me want to know more. It led me to this book. I've just finished it, and can't stop thinking about it. If a novelist made up this saga, one might say it was just too fantastic. And yet the most fantastic thing of all is that it's true. David Michaelis weaves the tale, not just of N.C. Wyeth, but of his family and his times. Although so many people are introduced, the writing is clear and vibrant, and one never loses track of who's who. No novel could be more compelling than this saga, with twists and turns that almost had me gasping. Biography just doesn't get any better than this. Whether or not you're interested in Art, it is well worth your time. Bravo to Mr. Michaelis!

Rating:
Summary: Interesting reading on many levels
Review: David Michaelis has exhaustively researched N. C. Wyeth's life, poring through literally thousands of letters and other materials preserved in the Wyeth archive, but his biography is no dry recitation of facts. Through it, N. C. comes alive as a forceful presence, living through an amazing era and NOT exemplifying it. Although his life spanned almost half of the twentieth century, the insular family world he grew up in, then created for himself, was a monumental attempt to preserve the values and morals of the nineteenth century. Barry Moser highly recommended this book to me back in August, and I thank him for it-- as a work of history it is excellent, and as a biography is second to none.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book on NC Wyeth and his oeuvre
Review: I discovered NC Wyeth accidentally as he is not known at all in France. I already had a book with some of his illustrations without any text attached to it so it was with great pleasure I read this enthralling book. What moved me the most was his profound sense of failure regardless of all the praise he was receiving. Michaelis is not so much making Wyeth's pictures talk as making Wyeth's voice heard. It is also a very vivid description of the passing of an era, through the eyes of someone, Wyeth, who is desperate for its passing. As for the book, it is a beautiful edition with carefully chosen illustrations. A great read.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book on NC Wyeth and his oeuvre
Review: I discovered NC Wyeth accidentally as he is not known at all in France. I already had a book with some of his illustrations without any text attached to it so it was with great pleasure I read this enthralling book. What moved me the most was his profound sense of failure regardless of all the praise he was receiving. Michaelis is not so much making Wyeth's pictures talk as making Wyeth's voice heard. It is also a very vivid description of the passing of an era, through the eyes of someone, Wyeth, who is desperate for its passing. As for the book, it is a beautiful edition with carefully chosen illustrations. A great read.

Rating:
Summary: Even for those who have no idea who the Wyeth family is.
Review: I don't know if there is another Family that has continuously contributed to the world of art, and done so with such skill, as the 5 generations of Wyeths whose story is told in this work.

The title of my review may seem a bit odd but I believe those who read this book will find it appropriate. I read this book when it originally was published and then recently read it again. You need not be anything more than someone who loves to read to enjoy this book. While I am a great admirer of Mr. Andrew Wyeth's work and to a lesser extent other members of the Wyeth Family, I have no Art History education. The beauty of this work is that it is an incredible story on it's own, that additionally the story is true with 2 Wyeth Family members still painting, only enhances the reading. The fact this is not fiction makes the story all the more remarkable.

If you have already read about Mr. Andrew Wyeth's work you certainly will gain a great deal of insight as to why he may view his art as he does. Another wonderful book that focuses on Mr. Andrew Wyeth is by Richard Merryman, "Andrew Wyeth A Secret Life". It often seems that great artists in a range of artistic fields seem to have more than their share of drama in their lives. This is certainly the case with this 5 generational span of the Wyeths. There is also a great deal of tragedy and sadness.

Whether or not you are aware of or enjoy the work of The Wyeth Clan, they have and will continue to remain of great importance to Art History. Ranging from the illustrations by N.C Wyeth of dozens of books that are known to us all, to some of the most recognized images in the world as is the case with Andrew Wyeth's "Christina's World" from 1948, chances are you do know of the Wyeths.

The story most don't know is of the woman who is in the mentioned painting, her lifetime, and the stories and paintings that resulted from the house that she is looking towards in the painting. Not all of what you will learn is comfortable, some is sad; some behavior from members of the Family is eccentric to say the least.

What you will experience is a sweeping story that continues to this day. If an endorsement by an internationally acclaimed Artist would help, read what Mr. Barry Moser had to say about this book. And then go look at the book he was illustrating, the work he set aside to read this story. I cannot think of a more reliable recommendation.

Know the Family, know the work, or read as a novel. You will not de disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: A great literary read
Review: N.C. WYETH is so many things: a great biography, but also an amazing psychobiography of a family, a magisterially incisive art book, a heartbreaking chronicle of America's passage from thumping, Teddy Roosevelt-ian certainty to nuclear anxiety, from a pastoral Eden to a subdivided automated monster. So many things, and yet what I keep coming back to is how keenly David Michaelis has brought this man alive, in all his greatness and fallibility, his humanity. Forget about the arbitrary divisions between fiction and nonfiction -- this is an absolute literary achievement.