(American, b. 1946)

Draft Age

1965

36 × 30 in. (91.4 × 76.2 cm)

99.4

Purchased with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. Randy L. Christofferson; Mr. and Mrs. George Strawbridge, Jr.; Mary Alice Dorrance Malone Foundation; Margaret Dorrance Strawbridge Foundation of PA I, Inc.; The William Stamps Farish Fund; Mr. and Mrs. James W. Stewart, III; and MBNA America, 1999

This bold image of Wyeth’s closest childhood friend, Jimmy Lynch, is among the artist’s most imaginative early portraits. Lynch originally posed for the painting wearing an aviator’s scarf and goggles, but, after seeing Marlon Brando in The Wild One (1953), arrived at the studio dressed as he is here. Lynch’s attire and bad-boy stance embody the rebellious attitude of many young people during the politically turbulent 1960s; ironically, Lynch received his draft notice the day the painting was completed.

On View