I first came to know Henriette Wyeth when I was studying her father, N.C. Wyeth, for episode #14 of the Circa Sunday Night podcast entitled, “The Art of Adventure.”
Everyone talks about her father, the patriarch of American artistic royalty, or the most famous artist of the clan, Andrew Wyeth, but no one seems to remember Henriette—though she has enjoyed a little fame in her own right for her official portrait of former first lady, Pat Nixon. Known mostly for her florals, still lifes, and portraits, I find that it’s her use of color that I like best. Her pieces are pretty, which is probably not the highest praise one can give a painting, but to me, “pretty” is a worthwhile aim. We don’t have to look very far to see ugliness all around us; “Pretty” is a balm for a weary world.
My favorite Henriette Wyeth painting is Fantasy, a piece she completed in 1928. I haven’t been able to find any information about her inspiration for this piece, but ethereal and dreamy, it seems aptly named. There’s a narrative here that I’ve tried to piece together in my imagination: We are seeing two sides of one woman’s interior life. The brunette version is who she shows to the world. Serious and reserved, this persona is the foil to her freer spirit, as represented by the blond. Is this what Wyeth really had in mind? Surely not. But when it comes to art, I believe the narrative is in the eye of the beholder. In this way, the viewer “collaborates” with the artist, just as a reader “collaborates” with an author.
The women in this piece are the focal point, but all the floral embellishments are so beautiful, aren’t they?
(Note: The frame you see here isn’t part of the original painting; because of the dimensions of the image, I had to add a frame to avoid distorting it. It really is better to see it without the frame).
