The Work of Andrew Wyeth and Keith Haring

Andrew Wyeth 1917-2009

According to Andrew Wyeth's youngest son, Jamie, Wyeth went into a "tailspin" in the 1990s when he saw a photograph of a friend in a coffin at a funeral viewing.

Wyeth made more than a dozen drawings of his imagined funeral. One of the drawings shows family, friends and neighbors surrounding his coffin at the base of Kuerner's Hill in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, near the site where his father and three-year-old nephew were killed when their car was hit by a freight train. Another drawing depicts a neighbor, Helen Sipala, viewing Wyeth's body. The artist rarely drew his own image; the drawing is a rare self-portrait.

The drawings have recently been rediscovered and will be on public display, for the first time, at the Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine. Andrew Wyeth: Life and Death will be on exhibit from June 2 through October 16, 2022.

Many of Wyeth's works were inspired by the Olson House in Cushing, Maine, where Wyeth set up a studio. Wyeth painted more than 300 studies of the 1700s farmhouse, the home of Christina Olson and her brother, Alvaro. Christina was the inspiration for Christina's World. Wyeth is buried at a cemetery on the grounds of the house, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is owned by the Farnsworth Art Museum.

Andrew Wyeth's watercolor of the Olson House, available at Surovek Gallery, is a wonderful example of the fondness that the artist had, not just for the house, but for its inhabitants, as well.

Keith Haring 1958-1990

The style of Keith Haring is instantly recognizable. Haring was one of the twentieth century's most unique artists.

Haring was inspired by a 1977 retrospective of the work of Belgian-born artist, Pierre Alechinsky and by a lecture given by the artist, Christo, about Alechinsky. Alechinsky is 94, and lives and works in Bougival, near Paris. In 2018 he was awarded Japan's Praemium Imperiale prize for his artwork.

The works of both artists will be exhibited at the NSU Art Museum in Fort Lauderdale. Keith Haring and Pierre Alechinsky will be shown from February 27 through September 25, 2022.

Please contact us if you would like more information about the work of Andrew Wyeth, Keith Haring or any of the other fine art available at Surovek Gallery.