Life by Art: Part Four
Jesse Hulse
The influencers.
I recently read a brief memorial about the passing of Betsy Merle James Wyeth (1921-2020). If you’ve never heard of Betsy, most assuredly you’ve heard of her late husband, Andy. She was the devoted and loving wife of Chester County artist Andrew Wyeth for over 70 years, until his passing in 2009. We mostly talk of Andrew, or their son Jamie, his father N.C. Wyeth, and even the dozens of artists who are related or connected somehow to the Wyeth legacy. But very little of his muse, Betsy.
Her work doesn’t hang in a famous collection at a museum somewhere (although her image does) and she isn’t known for her affinity of difficult crossword puzzles (which she loved doing). And, although Betsy wasn’t an artist in her own right, she was indeed the inspiration behind many of her famous husband’s paintings. The chief motivator behind the published works of his life and art. Co-founder of the Wyeth Foundation for American Art and the force behind the creation of the Brandywine River Museum of Art in Chadds Ford, PA. As Andrew once candidly quipped to his biographer in 1966, "She’s made me into a painter that I would not have been otherwise…she made me see more clearly what I wanted."
As Mother’s Day was recently spent with most of us in a quarantine of some sort, it was a perfect opportunity to reflect on the important women in our lives. The wives who graciously support us through thick and thin, the mothers who provided nurturing in our lives when we needed it most, along with the daughters, sisters, nieces, aunts, grandmothers, and girlfriends alike. And, whether we want to admit it or not, us men should be eternally grateful that there was a good woman, or two, somewhere along the way who was responsible for guiding us, at least for a portion of our lives. We should all be as lucky as Andrew was, and pay homage, take notice, and appreciate the influence that these women have made. And, not for just one day a year. There are 364 other days to consider.
Their inspiration helps us all see life more clearly at times. Thank you, Betsy.
Maga’s Daughter by Andrew Wyeth
® 1966 Andrew Wyeth/ARS. All rights reserved.