The Wyeth family: three generations of American art

N C Wyeth (1882-1945) was one of America's finest illustrators, best known for his outstanding book illustrations of [i]Treasure Island[/i][i], The Boy's King Arthur[/i] and [i]Robinson Crusoe[/i]. His illustrations in oils are magnificent, lush, technically brilliant examples of imaginative story-telling, and he painted some lovely landscapes as well. He taught not only his students but also three of his children and two sons-in-law to paint, in his studio in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009), the youngest son of N. C. Wyeth, is the best known artist in the family. Andrew was particularly close to his father and began studying with him at an early age. At his death in January 2009, he was regarded as America's finest realist painter - he was certainly the most famous, hugely popular with the public but dividing the critics.

James Browning Wyeth (1946-) is Andrew Wyeth's son. He showed remarkable talent and gained great recognition very early in life. He had his first exhibition at the age of twenty, and has carried on the family tradition with his own brilliant career. His work has its own colourful personality, but there are clear links with that of his father and grandfather.

Henriette Wyeth (1907-1997) was N. C. Wyeth's first child and is considered by many to be one of the great women painters of the 20th century. After the age of 30 she moved to New Mexico with her husband, Peter Hurd. Her distinguished career as a portraitist includes such well-known subjects as First Lady Pat Nixon, actress Helen Hayes and author Paul Horgan.