This weekend we visited the Bradywine Museum of Art to view the Andrew Wyeth exhibition, "At Kuerner Farm: The Eye of the Earth".
This exhibition features many well-known works by Wyeth, including preliminary studies that take you into Wyeth's mind during the creative process, most notably for Spring (1978, pictured above). Additionally, I was pleased to see there were a number of works that have never been publicly displayed.
The last time I viewed a large number of Wyeth's works was in 2017, also at the Brandywine Museum. On Saturday, I was quickly reminded of how rough and loose many of the studies were, not to mention their sheer size. In one, Wyeth imagines his own funeral with some scarcely visible graphite figures in attendance, and the composition expands more than 5 feet in both directions.
Wyeth never stops reminding you of death. In Snow Hill (1989), he bends the earth itself to include the railroad crossing where his father lost his life. For me, the aforementioned Spring was the haunting show stopper, with Wyeth depicting Karl Kuerner's peaceful transition into oneness with his land.
(above) Study for Spring
The new episode of Light of the Masters provides more of my perspectives on Wyeth and features high resolution details of some of our favorites from the show.
"Andrew Wyeth At the Kuerners: The Eye of the Earth" runs through September 28th 2025 at the Brandywine Museum of Art.
