I'll admit I knew little of the iconic painter Andrew Wyeth before viewing this documentary, directed by Glenn Holsten. I found the film to be a fascinating look at the life and work of Wyeth, who died in 2009 at the age of 91.
Not a world traveler, he focused his paintings mostly on the people and rural scenes surrounding his homes in Pennsylvania and Maine, where he found his inspiration. To me, I found them to be awe inspiring and was greatly puzzled by some of the harsh criticism he endured by so-called experts in the field throughout his career.
However, his popularity among the public was enormous and his shows would draw record crowds. Today, posthumously his paintings are receiving a new wave of adoration, and, in my opinion, justifiably so.
Of all the ground covered in the doc, a few things stood out to me. One was his long term marriage and business partnership with his wife Betsy, who not only handled their finances and managed his showings, but also had a keen eye for his work which he respected.
Also, the stunningly mysterious Wyeth painting "Christina's World" is even more fascinating when we see in the film how this work of art was formulated. Finally, we're introduced to the shock of the erotic Helga paintings of Wyeth which he made over a period of years but never told anyone about including Betsy and the controversy that soon followed after they became known.
Overall, this movie is a fascinating look at a master artist and his life.
