Recent Acquisitions: Works by Andrew Wyeth, Thomas Hart Benton and Martin Lewis

Recent acquisitions at Surovek Gallery include the works of some of the greatest American (and one European) artists who have contributed to the breadth and scope of art in America. Here’s a look at just a few of the new works available at Surovek Gallery:

Andrew Wyeth 1917-200

Andrew Wyeth was not just a great painter, he was also an American celebrity. In a New York Times interview, shortly after Wyeth’s death, Adam Weinberg, the director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, said, “In a way, Wyeth was not unlike Andy Warhol, in that very few others had that kind of popular appeal and name recognition. In many aspects we can say it was the two Andys who were probably the most prominent figures in American art in the last century.”

Wyeth was born in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania and spent summers at his home in Cushing, Maine. His neighbors in Cushing were Christina Olson and her brother, Alvaro. Wyeth created more than 300 works of the Olson House, and Christina, from 1939 to 1968. It was the painting, Christina’s World that propelled Wyeth to national fame, along with its inhabitants and the house itself.

Two of our recent acquisitions are Andrew Wyeth’s Apple Shed and Olson House, The painting of the Olson House was done six years before he painted Christina’s World and was gifted to Christina and Alvaro by Andrew Wyeth and his wife, Betsy.

The Olson House is on the National Register of Historic Places and owned by the Farnsworth Art Museum. Both Wyeth and Betsy are buried in the cemetery on the grounds of the Olson House, near the gravesites of Christina and Alvaro Olson.

Thomas Hart Benton 1889 – 1975

Thomas Hart Benton is best known as a Regionalist painter who depicted everyday life in the Midwest. He was born in Neosho, Missouri and died in Kansas City, Missouri, but his sense of style was influenced by places to which he traveled and in which he lived for a large part of his life.

Benton studied at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago and the Académie Julian in Paris and lived in Manhattan for more than twenty years. He taught at The Art Students League from 1926 – 1935. One of the students on whom he had a profound influence was Jackson Pollock.

Benton’s early twentieth century paintings of Manhattan present incredibly serene views of the city. Hart was able to imbue his paintings with a sense of place that had wide appeal. His paintings of Manhattan are as inviting as his paintings of Fisherman’s Camp at the Buffalo River in northern Arkansas.

Martin Lewis 1881-1962

Martin Lewis had a passion for drawing as a child born and raised in Australia. He left home at age 15 and, after traveling as a merchant seaman, he finally settled in New York.

Lewis’ focus was on etching and printmaking. He taught printmaking at the Art Students League of New York from 1944 until his retirement in 1952. Stoops in the Snow is an outstanding example of the Lewis’ superb technique.

Please contact us if you would like more information about the work of Andrew Wyeth, Thomas Hart Benton, Martin Lewis or any of the other fine works available at Surovek Gallery.