I was almost made to stay in Robin Hood’s Sherwood Forest with Maid Marion and the rebels.' Wyeth recalled of that time: 'Pa kept me almost in a jail, just kept me to himself in my own world, and he wouldn’t let anyone in on it. was a large man with an unlimited supply of energy, in stark contrast to his weak and fragile son.

There was a noticeable difference between them: Wyeth Sr. Andrew was not in good health, one illness followed another, and he had to spend a lot of time at home, taking drawing lessons from his father.

Nathaniel, Andrew’s older brother, was a mechanical engineer and inventor.Īs an illustrator, Newell Converse Wyeth made a decent living, and the family was well off. The second daughter, Caroline, also followed her father’s footsteps, and the youngest Ann became a gifted musician. The eldest sister, Henrietta, is often referred to as one of the most important female artists of the 20th century. Andrew was the youngest child in the family, and his three sisters and brother were also brilliant. His father was Newell Converse (N.C.) Wyeth, one of America’s greatest illustrators. Newell’s sonAndrew Wyeth was born in 1917 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. It is unlikely that Andrew Wyeth would have achieved his position and fame if he had not once met Betsy Merle James, daughter of Elizabeth 'Maga' James (hence the title of the 'Maga's Daughter' portrait). She introduced her husband to the subject of his most famous painting 'Christina's World' (1948), posed for the woman crawling across the field to the house, and gave the work its name. Her beautiful eyes are lit by the unseen light source to the left of the painting.īetsy Wyeth has been an associate, business manager and muse for her husband Andrew for seven decades, as well as the chief archivist of his work. There is a faint flush of colour to her cheeks and a smile is forming on her lips. She wears a drab-coloured, high collared dress which almost blends in with the slightly lighter coloured background. Atop her head is an antique riding hat with its drawstrings dangling freely on either side of her face, almost if they were acting as a frame of a picture. Her bearing is one of dignified pride as she averts her eyes away from the viewer. He depicted his beloved wife in a three-quarter view, standing erect. This is how the artist Andrew Wyeth wrote about his portrait 'Maga's Daughter', that was created in 1966.

Betsy james wyeth