Whereas Andrew Wyeth was one of the most popular American
artists of the twentieth century, whose paintings presented to the world his
impressions of rural American landscapes and lives;
Whereas Andrew Wyeth was born in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania
on July 12, 1917, where he spent much of his life and where today stands the
Brandywine River Museum, a museum dedicated to the works of the Wyeth
family;
Whereas Andrew Wyeth died the morning of January 16, 2009,
at the age of 91, in his home in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania;
Whereas it is the intent of the Senate to recognize and
pay tribute to the life of Andrew Wyeth, his passion for painting, his
contribution to the world of art, and his deep understanding of the human
condition;
Whereas Andrew Wyeth was born the son of famed illustrator
N.C. Wyeth and grew up surrounded by artists in an environment that encouraged
imagination and free-thinking;
Whereas Andrew Wyeth became an icon who focused his work
on family and friends in Chadds Ford and in coastal Maine, where he spent his
summers and where he met Christina Olson, the subject of his famed painting
Christina’s World
;
Whereas Andrew Wyeth’s paintings were immensely popular
among the public but sometimes disparaged by critics for their lack of color
and bleak landscapes portraying isolation and alienation;
Whereas Andrew Wyeth’s works could be controversial, as
they sparked dialogue and disagreement in the art world concerning the natures
of realism and modernism;
Whereas Andrew Wyeth was immensely patriotic and an
independent thinker who broke with many of his peers on the issues of the
day;
Whereas Andrew Wyeth was a beloved figure in Chadds Ford
and had his own seat at the corner table of the Chadds Ford Inn, where
reproductions of his art line the walls;
Whereas Andrew Wyeth received the Presidential Medal of
Freedom in 1963 and the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor in 1988;
Whereas Andrew Wyeth let it be known that he lived to
paint and never lost his simplicity and caring for people despite his immense
fame and successful career; and
Whereas the passing of Andrew Wyeth is a great loss to the
world of art, and his life should be honored with highest praise and
appreciation for his paintings which remain with us although he is gone: Now,
therefore, be it
That the Senate—
(1)recognizes Andrew
Wyeth as a treasure of the United States and one of the most popular artists of
the twentieth century; and
(2)recognizes the
outstanding contributions of Andrew Wyeth to the art world and to the community
of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.