Three Generations
Somerville Manning’s annual American Masters show spans the life of three Wyeths
Somerville Manning’s annual American Masters show spans the life of three Wyeths
Every year, Somerville Manning Gallery in Greenville, Delaware, puts on a show of “American Masters.” this year, the title of the exhibition is Wyeth to Warhol: Modern Masters from Past and Present. vickie Manning, owner of Somerville Manning Gallery, explains,“the basis for the theme is the three generations of the Wyeth family: N.C., Andrew and Jamie.the goal is to include work from them, put into context by everything else that was going on in the art world in during those generations.”
From N. c. wyeth, Ethan Allen, Forerunner of Independence will be on view. It was initially used as an advertising image for Dixon Ticonderoga pencils, and later appeared in The Saturday Evening
Post and was reproduced as a poster. “It’s a classic N.C., and it’s also classic American history,” notes Manning.
“It’s large and dramatic, but fun at the same time.”
In Jane Peterson’s The Flapper, a young woman examines herself in a mirror.the 1929 oil is an example of Peterson’s more modernist work, with its tightly structured composition. with the sitter’s dress and surroundings done in muted greens and whites, her red hair and extravagant yellow hat become the focal point of the painting.
One of the earlier examples in the show comes from Childe Hassam.
His Summer Afternoon, apple dore was completed in the mid-1890s. Hassam often traveled to Appledore, part of the Isle of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire, where he found inspiration in the garden of poet, horticulturalist and ornithologist Celia Thaxter.“she was an interesting figure, and they had a really lovely connection,” Manning says. Summer Afternoon, appledore depicts the island’s rocky coast.
From Abbott Fuller Graves comes the Boston School painting In the
Garden. A lifelong friend of Hassam, Graves was particularly well known for his floral and garden works. In the Garden was likely painted in plein air—an approach that he adopted while living in Paris in the early 20th century—and depicts a woman sitting among the flowers on a sunny day.
Wyeth to Warhol also includes work from the mid- to late 20th century, including Andrew Wyeth’s 1958 watercolor Dry Well (Rain Barrel) and Andy Warhol’s 1983 Valentine’s Heart Ad (Heart Fund). Contemporary artists including Bo Bartlett, David Hockney and Wolf Kahn will also be represented. Wyeth to Warhol opens April 27 at Somerville Manning Gallery and remains on view through June 2.