Friday, June 26, 2015

A question for you regarding Andrew Wyeth. . .

So yesterday I was out and about with Connor (18) and he took a quick peek into the current issue of MAD magazine while we were waiting to check out of the grocery.  He laughs at a political cartoon of Chris Christie saying, "Isn't this funny? - it is referencing Christina's World."  He saw my confused face and said - "You do know about Christina's World don't you?" and quickly googles a picture of it.  When I saw the artist was Andrew Wyeth I said, "Oh, he's the guy who painted lots and lots of portraits of the neighbor lady and nobody knew anything about it." (See Helga Pictures)  At that point it was Connor's turn to look confused.

The big scandal regarding the 247 Helga paintings hit when I was not much older than Connor is now and is the immediate reference my brain goes to when it hears the name Andrew Wyeth.  I knew that he had a history as a painter but I was a kid and we didn't have Google then so Helga is the only reference I have for him.  Connor says that my not knowing about Christina's World is on the same level as if someone didn't know about American Gothic.  So tell me - is it true that I've been living under a rock??  It's okay - I can take it. . .

BTW - this girl is for the Summer of Color Challenge 3 (two purples and one yellow),
Linking to Paint Party Friday,

16 comments:

Julie Lee said...

I love your portraits and this one is so beautiful and full of life. I really like your style. Well, I've not heard of Christina's World either. I'm a mum of a twenty-one year old and twenty-four year old and I'm British - is that any excuse? Lol! xxx

Julie Lee said...

Oh, Christina's World, of course! I thought it vaguely rang a bell! I Googled it and recognized it straight away. I could have kicked myself! xxx

Janet said...

When I looked at the photo of the painting I recognized it but didn't know the name of it until now. Thanks...I learned something today!

Your purple and yellow girl is very cool!

Arnoldo L. Romero, MLA said...

I love the strong graphic feel of your portrait, which also has a peacefulness about it with the muted colors you chose. The conversation with your teenage son cracked me up, since it's so typical. Have a blessed weekend!

Clare Lloyd said...

Love your colour block design.

Rolina said...

Art graduate here, at colleges that taught a lot of art history, so, yes, Andrew Wyeth is very familiar to me.

Love your portrait for the SOC!

Sharon Fritchman said...

We live near the Brandywine River Museum in PA and I was lucky enough to see Andrew Wyeth's "Christina's World" on display there during a visit. And I love the work of art you created using this week's SOC colors!

Linda Kunsman said...

Love your portrait Michelle. She's got such a gentle face but the thick outlines give her a poster-like feel. And congrats on winning last week's prize-wow that is going to make for some awesome art!

Kristin said...

xo

Cindy D. said...

There are far too many things to know! I mean seriously. I will say I had seen the painting but couldn't have told you its name. But my art history knowledge is pretty terrible. Love your purple and yellow girl!

pauline said...

ALL parents live under a rock Michelle. We should know that by now. ;) My son sounds like your son. hehehehee... He sometimes tells me things & then looks at me like I have 10 heads if I happen not to know what he's talking about. sheeeeesh. kids. ;)
i love Andrew Wyeth's work (and i was fascinated when i first heard the Helga story, years ago). Also love Christina's World. But most of all, i love your girl. You have the perfect balance of yellow & purple there. Beautiful. xx

denthe said...

Your SOC-girl looks awesome, you used the colours really well! I never heard of Andrew Wyeth or Helga paintings or Christina's world..... Guess I've been living under a rock too ... ;-)

Dandelion and Daisy said...

Ah-h-h, Christina's World.....I was fortunate enough to see if for real at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) along with van Gogh's The Starry Night and so many, many more of the masters. It has only been a month and I still get emotional when I think about being in the presence of such genius and seeing their original works. I live on the west coast, it was well worth the trip!

Jennifer Rose said...

I'm actually going to the same college as Rolina did, and yeah Wyeth is mentioned a lot lol

very nice use of these weeks colours :)

Maarit at Violets Corner said...

Beautiful painting, my sons believe that I'm ancient sometimes :)

Love and hugs
Maarit

Kim Dellow said...

LOL! I totally live under a rock for so many thing!
Love your face, and the great colours, love how you have used the same colour in the background too, but she still pops because of the different tone! Love that, I might have to try it! Thank you for linking it up to Show Your Face last week, sorry I'm late coming around to leave some blog love! Thanks for the shout out too. Kx