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Greenville & Hockessin Life

Somerville Manning Gallery hosts Wyeth exhibition

Jun 22, 2017 01:05PM ● By J. Chambless

The Somerville Manning Gallery features original works by Andrew Wyeth through July 29.

By John Chambless
Staff Writer

Running through July 29 at the Somerville Manning Gallery in Greenville, Del., is “Andrew Wyeth: A Survey.”

The gallery has a decades-long association with the Wyeth family, and this exhibition draws from their many sources for a dazzling opportunity to actually own an original – at a price. It's a delight to walk through the show which, in several cases, rivals the works on view at the Brandywine River Museum of Art.

The hushed drama of “Blowing Leaves,” a 1980 watercolor of dried leaves fluttering toward a shuttered window, has a nearly palpable autumn chill.

“Carolyn Painting,” a 1933 watercolor, shows both the span of Wyeth's astounding career and spotlights a warm moment of his sister at her easel in front of an open garage. “Taylor's Run” (1943) is another vintage painting that reflects Wyeth's early, thickly-colored style.

Wyeth's mastery of dual moods is shown in “Chain Hoist” (1965), with its slightly sinister chain mechanism outside a stately stone barn; as well as in “The Tide Mill” (1968), with its gleaming saw blade and chain hinting at veiled menace.

There's an untitled watercolor of Wyeth's famous model, Helga, from 1979; a dazzling study of an oak trunk done as a study for “Sentry” (1949); a quick but perfect pencil study for “Star Route” (1977); and several portraits, the most compelling of which is perhaps the spare and elegant “China Blue” (1987).

Little darkened spaces beckon the viewer in the Maine watercolor “Elsie's House” (1958), and the winter scene “Possum Hollow” (1984), but the whole show is a treat.

“Andrew Wyeth: A Survey” continues at the Somerville Manning Gallery (101 Stone Block Row, Greenville, Del.) through July 29. Call 302-652-0271 or visit www.somervillemanning.com for a digital catalog of the show.

To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email [email protected].


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