Swiss Information – Tourism & Products

Swiss National Anthem Composer Johann

His name summons up our earliest images of the beloved books we read as children. His illustrations for Scribner's Illustrated Classics (Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Last of the Mohicans, The Yearling) are etched into the collective memory of generations of readers. He was hailed as the biggest American illustrator of his day. For forty-three years, starting in 1902, N.C. Wyeth painted landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and murals, as well as illustrations for a long shelf of world literature. Yet in spite of global acclaim, he judged himself a failure, believing that illustration was of no importance.

David Michaelis tells the story of Wyeth's family through four generations -- a saga that begins and ends with disaster -- and brings to life the huge-spirited, deeply elaborated man, and an America that was quickly vanishing.

ReviewN.C. Wyeth's marvelously paintings of The Last of the Mohicans, Robinson Crusoe, and Treasure Island have given visual form to these stories for generations of readers. Wyeth's extraordinary pictures still carry all the power they had in their heyday. And communal, millennial-bound nostalgia for the basi half of the 20th century gives the paintings, if possible, an even more sentimental glow. This meticulous, encompassing study of the tempestuous, difficult, brilliant illustrator likewise delves into the entire clan of famous Wyeth artists, including Andrew (who was offered a bribe to delay his marriage), and Peter Hurd (who married Andrew's sister Henriette then escaped with her to New Mexico).

David Michaelis has done an extraordinary amount of research, and the book will have to mesmerize Wyeth fans. But he seems to doubt his own capacity to make this dramatic material come alive, for he resorts to untrue suspense--using a baby's death and the suggestion of foul play on page 1 to hook the reader, but almost 200 pages later allows that there's not actually any proof for his conjectures. And he liberally employs italics, giving the text an insistent tone that is at times intrusive. Nonetheless, Michaelis adroitly chronicles Wyeth's complicated, fraught kinship with his family. And he is peculiarly perceptive in his analysis of N.C.'s stormy ties to his mentor, Howard Pyle. The artist's genteel disability to talk money, even for the duration of the Depression; his devotion to his neurotic mother; and the magical world of Chadd's Ford, where he watchfully, jealously raised his children, are all beautifully described. This is a valuable, multifaceted look at a passionate, difficult subject. In the end, Wyeth emerges, warts and all, as a complex individual, whose inner life was exhaustively entwined with each aspect of his art. --Peggy Moorman

From Publishers WeeklyThe violent deaths of N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945), arguably America's biggest illustrator, and his little grandson in a mysterious car accident contrasted markedly with his cozy, seemingly uneventful life, which was characterized beneath it is placid surface by strong, ambivalent affixations to home and family. The son of a Massachusetts farmer and a Swiss-German immigrant, Wyeth begun his professional career while studying underneath a giant of American picture making, Howard Pyle, and went on to become famous for his own editions of Treasure Island, The Last of the Mohicans and Robin Hood. All the while, he complained when it comes to the requisite of illustrating, which seemed to him a distraction from his true calling as a painter; from an early age, he raised his son Andrew to succeed where he had failed. Michaelis's graceful, informative but unfocused biography, which excerpts to a considerable degree from communication exchange in the family archives, too oftentimes reads like a series of quotations, loosely stitched together. Absent consistent diagnoses, it is repeated references to Wyeth's depressions and his mother's "nervous derangement" bog the narrative down and stay a puzzle. And though Michaelis (The Best of Friends) documents Wyeth's undertake to paint landscapes, he never addresses the question that was central to Wyeth's career: did his illustrations ever succeed as art? Michaelis identifies the source for a good deal of of Wyeth's most inspired illustrations; he even finds traits of Wyeth's difficult mother in his illustration of Treasure Island's reptilian Captain Pew. Still, the book offers too much evidence?that Wyeth was searching for a spiritual home, that Wyeth remained unfulfilled?and not sufficient summing up. Color and b&w plates not seen by PW.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From BooklistWith unencumbered access to five generations of Wyeth family archives, Michaelis has written an indepth biography of famed children's book illustrator N. C. Wyeth. Wyeth's art and career are eclipsed here by Michaelis' a lot of psychological theories and observations of the artist's personal life. From the time he was born in 1882, Newell Convers Wyeth never escaped his mother's toxic influence. Henriette Zirngiebel Newell was a near-hysterical woman whose husband catered to her lifelong irrationalities. Convers was raised, and subsequently raised his own children, in an oppressive maze of family mysteries and fantasies. Michaelis painstakingly details the sense of suffocation, duty, and obligation of "home" that Henriette instilled in her boy. "Emotional stability eluded him. He would be dependent on others to maintain equilibrium all his life." N. C. Wyeth painted finelooking illustrations, but he could scarcely keep his personal life from rot and decay. A arousing and attention holding life story but one likely to disappoint those mesmerized primarily in the artist's work. Karen Simonetti

Most helpful client reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful.
Even for those who have no idea who the Wyeth family is.
By taking a rest
I don't know if there is another Family that has without disruption contributed to the world of art, and done so with such skill, as the 5 generations of Wyeths whose story is told in this work.

The title of my review may seem a bit odd but I believe those who read this book will find it appropriate. I read this book when it in the first place was published and then lately read it again. You need not be anything more than an individual who loves to read to take pleasure in this book. While I am a great admirer of Mr. Andrew Wyeth's work and to a lesser extent other members of the Wyeth Family, I have no Art History education. The beauty of this work is that it is an unbelievable story on it's own, that in addition the story is unfeigned with 2 Wyeth Family members still painting, only enhances the reading. The fact this is not fiction makes the story all the more remarkable.

If you have already read regarding Mr. Andrew Wyeth's work you surely will gain a outstanding deal of clear or deep perception as to why he may view his art as he does. Another wondrous book that focuses on Mr. Andrew Wyeth is by Richard Merryman, "Andrew Wyeth A Secret Life". It many times seems that outstanding artists in a range of artistic fields seem to have more than their share of drama in their lives. This is surely the case with this 5 generational span of the Wyeths. There is also a great deal of disaster and sadness.

Whether or not you are conscious of or take delight in the work of The Wyeth Clan, they have and will proceed to stay of great importance to Art History. Ranging from the illustrations by N.C Wyeth of dozens of books that are known to us all, to galore of the most recognized images in the world as is the case with Andrew Wyeth's "Christina's World" from 1948, prospects are you do know of the Wyeths.

The story most don't know is of the woman who is in the cited painting, her lifetime, and the stories and paintings that resulted from the house that she is looking towards in the painting. Not all of what you will learn is comfortable, a heap of is sad; a good deal of conduct from members of the Family is eccentric to say the least.

What you will experience is a sweeping story that proceeds to this day. If an endorsement by an internationally acclaimed Artist would help, read what Mr. Barry Moser had to say in regards to this book. And then go look at the book he was illustrating, the work he set detached to read this story. I can not think of a more authenti recommendation.

Know the Family, know the work, or read as a novel. You will not de disappointed.

10 of 10 humans found the following review helpful.
A outstanding literary read
By A
As a writer with the Philadelphia Inquirer, I have covered the Wyeth family extensively. I thought I knew everything with regards to N.C. Wyeth, particularly after reading Meryman's book on Andrew W. I thought I would get the same old background info, such as how N.C. home-schooled his kids, was a "super Dad," as Michaelis described him in a recent interview. I had read N.C. Wyeth's letters so I thought I knew all in regards to his life before marriage. I was astonished how novel-like this bio is, not surprising since Michaelis is a novelist. (He says he has given up fiction though; he was in the middle of a stalled novel when he decisive to write a magazine piece for Conte Nast Travel magazine regarding Chadds Ford. Then he thought of doing the bio.) I also love the 19th-century social history aspect of the book--Michaelis begins with N.C.'s grandparents. He likewise explains everything within a historical context (but not too heavy) so that when you read regarding the Wyeth's early life in New England, he mentions how others (i.e. neighbors) were likewise living their lives. In researching the book, Michaleis read everything from books on depression to Van Gough's letters. There is likewise one major family mystery that each book review mentions. I wish I hadn't known regarding it before reading the book, because it was like reading a mystery and knowing the who-done-it.

13 of 14 persons found the following review helpful.
Interesting reading on a great deal of levels
By A
Even if the Wyeths had had no artistic legacy, this book would still be fascinating. Michaelis tells a complex and engaging story set in a time of great alter in America. Thouroughly agreeably diverting and informative.

See all 13 client reviews...