OCT 19 2017 – JAN 15 2018

Image: The Drifter, 1964, Andrew Wyeth, 1917–2009, drybrush watercolor on paper, 22 ½ x 28 ½ in., Collection of Phyllis and Jamie Wyeth, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society (ARS)

PRESS RELEASE

AUGUST 8, 2017

Press Contact

Rachel Eggers Manager of Public Relations rachele@seattleartmuseum.org 206.654.3151

ANDREW WYETH: IN RETROSPECT OPENS AT

SEATTLE ART MUSEUM OCTOBER 19

Major exhibition presents radical reimagining of one of the 20th

century’s most complicated artists

SEATTLE, WA – The Seattle Art Museum presents Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect (October 19, 2017–January 15, 2018), exploring groundbreaking perspectives on the art and legacy of the American painter’s 75-year career. Organized by the Seattle Art Museum with the Brandywine River Museum of Art for the 100th anniversary of the artist’s birth, the exhibition brings together 110 paintings and drawings ranging from the late 1930s to 2008, including rarely seen loans from the Wyeth family. In Retrospect reflects on Wyeth’s work through the historical

lens of a century in which he deviated from the American art mainstream but continued to figure prominently in much of the country’s artistic discourse. ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

In Retrospect opens with a gallery of significant works introducing the cast of characters from Wyeth’s world who feature in some of his most famous portraits, such as Christina Olson of Maine and Karl Kuerner, his neighbor in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. These dream-like works complicate long-held critical notions of Wyeth as an out-of-step realist, revealing how he imbued images of the places, people, and things around him with his own mysterious temperament. “The work of Andrew Wyeth is technically dazzling, narratively riveting, and, well—weird,” says Patricia Junker, SAM’s Ann M. Barwick Curator of American Art. “His portraits, figures, and landscapes reveal a complex mind investigating the deepest human emotions: love, death, and how we experience the passing of time. We are thrilled to offer this rare opportunity to see such an impressive array of Wyeth’s work.” After the first gallery, the exhibition is organized in rough chronological order, tracing Wyeth’s development from his earliest watercolors, to more staged works of the 1940s-50s, and to deeper technical experimentation in the 1950s-60s, incorporating elements of chance. These include the artist’s little-known portraits of African Americans from the Chadds Ford community. The exhibition also offers a rare view into Wyeth’s artistic and technical process, presenting studies in a variety of media in an intimate tabletop display.

2 A subsequent gallery presents the transitional moment in the late 1960s when Wyeth created portraits of two favored subjects, Christina Olson and Siri Erickson. Enigmatic, unsettling paintings of Wyeth’s neighbors Anna and Karl Kuerner investigate a marriage; poignantly, these are adjacent to Wyeth’s nude portraits of the Kuerners’ nurse Helga Testorf, created in secret at the same time and kept hidden for decades. Also from this era are complex, more abstract paintings that stand out against the rest of Wyeth’s oeuvre, including Thin Ice (1969), an early work on loan from a private collection in Japan being

shown for the first time on the West Coast.

In Retrospect explores less-understood influences on Wyeth, such as popular

film and images of war. On view are clips from Metaphor (1975), a filmed

conversation between director King Vidor and Wyeth, including scenes from Vidor’s silent masterpiece about World War I, The Big Parade (1925), which

Wyeth first saw as a child and re-watched hundreds of times. Also playing in the exhibition are clips from Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal (1957),

another film that deeply influenced Wyeth. While his contemporaries were expressing the modern age through abstraction, these clips reveal how Wyeth found his own way to a powerful symbolism through the experimental, modern art form of film. The exhibition closes with increasingly surreal late works and reflections on mortality, ending with Wyeth’s last painting, Goodbye (2008), seen in this exhibition for the first time since it was briefly shown to those who attended the artist’s memorial service in 2009. EXHIBITION CATALOGUE A 240-page exhibition catalogue (including 170 color photographs) co-published by Yale University Press will be available for purchase in SAM Shop ($55.00). Also titled Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect (ISBN: 978-0-300-22395-8),

it is edited by SAM curator Patricia Junker and Brandywine curator Audrey Lewis. Intended to be the foundation for subsequent Wyeth studies, it features Junker’s insightful analysis of four periods in Wyeth’s career, as well as seven provocative essays on key aspects of Wyeth’s work by scholars from the US and Japan. It features a foreword by Thomas Padon, James H. Duff Director of the Brandywine River Museum of Art, and Kimerly Rorschach, Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director and CEO of the Seattle Art Museum. RELATED PROGRAMS AND EVENTS Art Beyond Sight and docent tours, as well as programs for educators and school groups, will be offered in conjunction with the exhibition in addition to a series of public programs to be announced. EXHIBITION ORGANIZATION AND SUPPORT

Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect is co-organized by the Brandywine River Museum

of Art and Seattle Art Museum. Special exhibitions at SAM are made possible by donors to

Presenting Sponsors

3 Lead Sponsors

Major Sponsors Christie's National Endowment for the Arts Additional Support Contributors to the SAM Fund Image credits: Wind from the Sea, 1947, Andrew Wyeth, 1917–2009, tempera, 18 ½x 27 ½in.,

©Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society, National Gallery of Art. Winter 1946, 1946, Tempera on

hardboard panel, 31 3/8 x 48 in., North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, Purchased with funds from the State of North Carolina, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artists Rights Society (ARS).

ABOUT SEATTLE ART MUSEUM As the leading visual art institution in the Pacific Northwest, SAM draws on its global collections, powerful exhibitions, and dynamic programs to provide unique educational resources benefiting the Seattle region, the Pacific Northwest, and beyond. SAM was founded in 1933 with a focus on Asian art. By the late 1980s the museum had outgrown its original home, and in 1991 a new 155,000-square-foot downtown building, designed by Robert Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates, opened to the public. The 1933 building was renovated and reopened as the Asian Art Museum in 1994. SAM’s desire to further serve its community was realized in 2007 with the opening of two stunning new facilities: the nine-acre Olympic Sculpture Park (designed by Weiss/Manfredi Architects)—a “museum without walls,” free and open to all—and the Allied Works Architecture designed 118,000-square-foot expansion of its main, downtown location, including 232,000 square feet of additional space built for future expansion. The Olympic Sculpture Park and SAM’s downtown expansion celebrate their tenth anniversary in 2017. From a strong foundation of Asian art to noteworthy collections of African and Oceanic art, Northwest Coast Native American art, European and American art, and modern and contemporary art, the strength of SAM’s collection of approximately 25,000 objects lies in its diversity of media, cultures and time periods.

PRESS RELEASE

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Press Contact

Rachel Eggers Manager of Public Relations rachele@seattleartmuseum.org 206.654.3151

SAM PRESENTS PROGRAMS AND EVENTS FOR

ANDREW WYETH: IN RETROSPECT

Explore major retrospective of American master with talks, film

events, and art-making

SEATTLE, WA – The Seattle Art Museum presents Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect

(October 19, 2017–January 15, 2018), exploring new and unexpected perspectives on the art and legacy of the American painter’s 75-year career. Organized by the Seattle Art Museum with the Brandywine River Museum of Art for the 100th anniversary of the artist’s birth, the exhibition brings together 110 paintings and drawings ranging from the late 1930s to 2008. SAM has brought together a lineup of related programs and events, including talks with the exhibition’s curator and scholars and art-making for all ages. To highlight the influence of film on Wyeth, SAM will host screenings and a Film Sprint, in which filmmakers are invited to create a short film in one week, with a screening and awards presentation at the end of the week.

ANDREW WYETH: IN RETROSPECT PROGRAMS AND EVENTS

Details are subject to change; additional programs or events may be added. For the most up-to-date information on Wyeth exhibition-related programs and events, go to visitsam.org/wyeth. Wed Oct 18 Member Preview & Happy Hour Noon–8 pm Seattle Art Museum SAM members are invited to preview Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect before it

opens to the public on October 19, with exhibition overviews with the curator and a happy hour event with music, a cash bar, and bites from TASTE. Thu Oct 19

Andrew Wyeth at the Movies: Days of Heaven

7:30–9:30 pm Seattle Art Museum For the exhibition’s opening night, explore the cinematic qualities of Andrew Wyeth’s paintings with an introduction from Patricia Junker, Ann M. Barwick Curator of American Art, followed by a screening of Terence Malick's 1978 film, Days of Heaven.

2 Wed Oct 25 Wyeth Film Sprint: Kickoff Session 7–8 pm Seattle Art Museum As Andrew Wyeth was inspired by film, SAM invites local filmmakers to create short films inspired by Wyeth's paintings in a weeklong sprint. This kickoff session will provide interested participants the need-to-know details of the competition. A public screening will held November 8. Sat Oct 28 Family Fun Workshop: Colorful Clay 10 am–12:30 pm Seattle Art Museum How can art transport us to another place? Explore the permanent collection and Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect to learn all about landscapes and color. Then

head to the studio to build a world of your own using clay and other fun materials. For ages 3-6 and caregivers. Wed Nov 1, Wed Dec 6, Wed Jan 3 Wyeth Wednesdays with Patti Junker Noon–12:30 pm Seattle Art Museum On select Wednesdays, Patricia Junker, Ann M. Barwick Curator of American Art, leads in-gallery talks exploring themes in Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect.

Thu Nov 2, Thu Dec 7 , Thu Jan 4 Drop-In Studio: Wyeth’s World 6:30–8:30 pm Seattle Art Museum Visit SAM on First Thursdays during the run of In Retrospect for a free drop-in

art-making session inspired by Wyeth's creative process presented in partnership with Gage Academy of Art. Fri Nov 3 First Friday Lecture 11 am–noon Seattle Art Museum Join Patricia Junker, Ann M. Barwick Curator of American Art, as she discusses the process of curating Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect.

Wed Nov 8 Wyeth Film Sprint: Screening 7–8 pm Seattle Art Museum As Andrew Wyeth was inspired by film, SAM invites local filmmakers to create short films inspired by Wyeth's paintings in a weeklong sprint. Following the kickoff session on October 25, tonight SAM screens the filmmakers’ resulting shorts—with winning films receiving a variety of awards. Sat Nov 11 Family Fun Workshop: Loved Landscapes, Painted Places 10 am–12:30 pm Seattle Art Museum

Tour Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect to learn about the places he loved—and painted—the most. Bring a picture of a landscape you love and paint it with help from our teaching artist. For ages 6-10 and caregivers. Sat Nov 11 Teen Night Out 7–10 pm Seattle Art Museum For high school-age teens only, this free, not-to-be-missed evening inspired by Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect showcases creativity and complex cultures alongside incredible DJs, teen art tours, and art-making workshops led by local contemporary artists.

3 Wed Nov 15 Andrew Wyeth at the Movies: The Big Parade

7:30–9:30 pm Seattle Art Museum

Andrew Wyeth held a long fascination with The Big Parade, the landmark 1925 World War I silent film by King Vidor, after first seeing it as child; for years, it continued to serve as a source of inspiration for his paintings. Fri Nov 17 Remix 8 pm–midnight Seattle Art Museum #SAMRemix returns jam-packed with eclectic performances, tours, dancing, creating, and exploring SAM's collection and special exhibitions. This edition of the lively late-night out is inspired by Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect. 21+

Thu Nov 30 Wyeth's Black Paintings with Gwendolyn Dubois Shaw 7–9 pm Seattle Art Museum Art historian and curator Gwendolyn Dubois Shaw, featured in the exhibition catalogue, discusses issues of representation in relation to Wyeth's numerous paintings of African American subjects. Sat Dec 9 Family Fun Workshop: People, Portraits, Puppets 10 am–12:30 pm Meander through the museum to "meet" the many people who Wyeth and other artists portrayed. In the studio, make your own portrait puppets inspired by what you've seen. For ages 3-6 and caregivers. Thursdays, Jan 11–Feb 22 The Films of Ingmar Bergman 7:30-9:30 pm Seattle Art Museum SAM teams with the Nordic Heritage Museum to celebrate the centennial of master Swedish writer-director Ingmar Bergman (1918-2018). Bergman’s seminal The Seventh Seal (January 25) served as a rich source of inspiration for Wyeth’s

paintings; enjoy this series even after In Retrospect has departed.

ADDITIONAL WAYS TO ENGAGE AND CONNECT Exhibition Catalogue A 240-page exhibition catalogue (including 170 color photographs) co-published by Yale University Press will be available for purchase in SAM Shop ($55.00). Also titled Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect (ISBN: 978-0-300-22395-8), it is edited by SAM curator Patricia Junker and Brandywine curator Audrey Lewis. Andrew Wyeth Audio Guide

Enhance your visit to In Retrospect with the audio guide, featuring Rodrigo

Prieto, cinematographer (Brokeback Mountain, Argo) inspired by Wyeth; Gwendolyn Dubois Shaw, art historian who has studied Wyeth’s black sitters; Henry Adams, art historian and longtime Wyeth scholar; Joyce Hill Stoner, Wyeth’s own painting conservator; and James Welling, artist inspired by Wyeth. The audio guide is free on visitors’ own devices; wands will also be available to rent. The audio guide is produced by Seattle Art Museum and the Brandywine River Museum of Art with Acoustiguide and is sponsored by KCTS 9. Digital Studio During your visit, use the touchscreens in the in-gallery Digital Studio to create a real or imagined landscape of where you live, inspired by Andrew Wyeth’s depictions of his homes in coastal Maine and Chadds Ford, PA.

4 REGISTERING AND PURCHASING TICKETS FOR SAM PROGRAMS Advance registration or ticket purchase is required for SAM public programs. To register or purchase tickets, visit seattleartmuseum.org or call the Box Office at 206.654.3121. Tickets may also be purchased at the Seattle Art Museum. EXHIBITION ORGANIZATION AND SUPPORT

Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect is co-organized by the Brandywine River Museum of Art and Seattle Art Museum. Special exhibitions at SAM are made possible by donors to

Presenting Sponsors

Lead Sponsors

Major Sponsors Christie's National Endowment for the Arts Additional Support American Art Endowment Fund Contributors to the SAM Fund Four Seasons Hotel Seattle Image credits: The Drifter, 1964, Andrew Wyeth, 1917–2009, drybrush watercolor, 22 ½ x 28 ½ in.,

Collection of Phyllis and Jamie Wyeth, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society (ARS). Snow

Hill, 1989, Andrew Wyeth, 1917–2009, tempera, 48 x 72 in., The Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection,

© 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society (ARS).

ABOUT SEATTLE ART MUSEUM As the leading visual art institution in the Pacific Northwest, SAM draws on its global collections, powerful exhibitions, and dynamic programs to provide unique educational resources benefiting the Seattle region, the Pacific Northwest, and beyond. SAM was founded in 1933 with a focus on Asian art. By the late 1980s the museum had outgrown its original home, and in 1991 a new 155,000-square-foot downtown building, designed by Robert Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates, opened to the public. The 1933 building was renovated and reopened as the Asian Art Museum in 1994. SAM’s desire to further serve its community was realized in 2007 with the opening of two stunning new facilities: the nine-acre Olympic Sculpture Park (designed by Weiss/Manfredi Architects)—a “museum without walls,” free and open to all—and the Allied Works Architecture designed 118,000-square-foot expansion of its main, downtown location, including 232,000 square feet of additional space built for future expansion. The Olympic Sculpture Park and SAM’s downtown expansion celebrate their tenth anniversary in 2017. From a strong foundation of Asian art to noteworthy collections of African and Oceanic art, Northwest Coast Native American art, European and American art, and modern and contemporary art, the strength of SAM’s collection of approximately 25,000 objects lies in its diversity of media, cultures and time periods.

SELECTED IMAGES

IMAGE CAPTION

Winter 1946, 1946, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, tempera on hardboard panel, 31 ⅜ x 48 in., North

Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, Purchased with funds from the State of North Carolina, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artists Rights Society (ARS)

The Drifter, 1964, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, drybrush watercolor on paper, 22 ½ x 28 ½ in.,

Collection of Phyllis and Jamie Wyeth, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society (ARS).

Pentecost, 1989, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, tempera with pencil on hardboard panel, 20 ¾ x 20 ⅝

in., The Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society (ARS).

Airborne, 1996, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, tempera on panel, 40 x 48 in. Courtesy of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, Photo: Robert LaPrelle, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artists Rights Society (ARS)

Alvaro and Christina, 1968, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, watercolor on paper, 22 ½ x 28 ¾ in.,

Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, Maine, Museum Purchase, 1969, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society

April Wind, 1952, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, tempera on hardboard panel, 20 x 26 in., Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Swan, 1957, Allen Phillips © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artists Rights Society (ARS)

Evening at Kuerners, 1970, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, watercolor on paper with drybrush, 25 ½ x 39 ¾ in., Collection of Nicholas

Wyeth, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society (ARS)

Christina Olson, 1947, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, tempera on hardboard panel, 33 x 25 in., Myron Kunin Collection of American Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society (ARS).

Day of the Fair, 1963, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, drybrush watercolor on paper, 14 ⅞ x 19 ¾ in.,

Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri, Museum Purchase, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society (ARS)

Maga's Daughter, 1966, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, tempera on hardboard paper, 26 ½ x 30 ¼ in., The

Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society (ARS)

The Kuerners, 1971, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, drybrush watercolor on paper, 26 ½ x 40 ⅛ in.,

The Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society (ARS)

Nogeeshik Aquash, 1971, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, pencil on paper, 11 11/16 x 15 ⅛ in., Frye Art Museum,

Seattle, 1972.002, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society (ARS)

Slight Breeze, 1968, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, tempera on hardboard panel, 24 ¾ x 32 ¾ in., Private Collection, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society (ARS)

Spring, 1978, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, tempera on hardboard panel, 24 x 48 in., Brandywine River Museum of Art, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, Gift of George A. Weymouth and his son in memory of Mr. and Mrs. George T. Weymouth, 1987, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society (ARS)

Nogeeshik, 1972, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, tempera on hardboard panel, 24 ⅝ x 21 ⅜ in., The

Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society (ARS)

Teel's Island, 1954, Andrew Wyeth, American 1917–2009, watercolor on paper with drybrush, 10 x 23 in., Private collection, courtesy of Guggenheim, Asher, Associates, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society (ARS).

Wind from the Sea, 1947, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, tempera on hardboard panel, 18 ½ x 27 ½ in.,

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Gift of Charles H. Morgan, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society (ARS)

Winter Fields, 1942, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, tempera on hardboard panel, 17 ¼ x 41 in., Whitney

Museum of American Art, New York, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Benno C. Schmidt in memory of Mr. Josiah Marvel, the first owner of this picture, 1977, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artists Rights Society (ARS)

Braids, 1977, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, tempera on hardboard panel, 16 ½ x 20 ½ in., Private collection,

© Pacific Sun Trading Company, Courtesy of Frank E. Fowler and Warren Adelson.

Snow Hill, 1989, Andrew Wyeth, American, 1917–2009, tempera on hardboard panel, 48 x 72 in., The Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection, © 2017 Andrew Wyeth / Artist Rights Society (ARS)