Introduction, Paintings 1-20 Summary and Analysis

Thomas Hoving, in his introduction to Andrew Wyeth's autobiography, begins by noting that it took him a long time to get to know Wyeth as a person, but that it took even longer to get to know him as an artist. What unites both Wyeth the man and Wyeth the artist is that he is independent and has been from an early age. He struggles with his art despite being free and undisciplined. He hides his paintings often and seems at many times to be painting only for himself. His reasons for starting a painting are often bizarre. Wyeth's paintings are free, dreamlike and draw romantic associations. They have been so for five decades. Wyeth is no romantic but he brings his emotions to bear in a dispassionate, detached manner from his subjects. His style eschews technique...