Generally regarded as "America's Painter," realist Andrew Wyeth is perhaps the most well know of the artistic Wyeth family dynasty which includes his father N. C. Wyeth, sister Henriette Hurd, and son Jamie Wyeth. Although most recent explorations of this artist have focused on his family and on the Helga pictures, this unique publication chronicles seven decades of an under-appreciated yet historically relevant aspect of his relationship to home and community. "Andrew Wyeth: Close Friends" is the first critical look at a significant body of paintings and works on paper depicting Wyeth's African-American friends and neighbours in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, a quaint village on the Brandywine River where he has lived since birth. Beginning in the 1930s, many of Wyeth's African-American neighbours served as his models both in and out of the studio. Images of over 20 individuals are included, as well as depictions of their homes, farms, and meeting places. Wyeth's own words annotate the reproductions of his paintings and drawings and offer a rare glimpse into the mind of this truly individual artist. In her brief introduction, the artist's wife and collaborator, Betsy James Wyeth, recounts her arrival in Chadds Ford as a young bride and her immediate connection to the community she found there. "Andrew Wyeth: Close Friends" includes over 100 colour reproductions of major tempera and watercolour paintings and numerous black and white images of graphite drawings. Works reproduced are drawn from public and private collections, with a large number from the personal collection of the Wyeths. In addition to a foreword by museum director R. Andrew Maass, the book includes family photographs and facsimiles of personal correspondence. Betsy James Wyeth came to Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania in 1940 as the new bride of painter Andrew Wyeth. She has collaborated with her husband on several exhibitions and publications. The Wyeth's divide their time between Chadds Ford and Midcoast, Maine.
