[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 27, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S899-S900]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        SENATE RESOLUTION 23--HONORING THE LIFE OF ANDREW WYETH

  Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. Specter, Ms. Snowe, and Ms. Collins) 
submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                               S. Res. 23

       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;

[[Page S900]]

       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
       Resolved, 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.

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