Artist:
Andrew Wyeth
(American, 1917 - 2009)
Sitter:
Adam Johnson
Adam
Medium: Tempera on panel
Date: 1963
Dimensions:
24 1/4 × 48 in. (61.6 × 121.9 cm)
Accession number: 2002.9
Copyright: © 2024 Wyeth Foundation for American Art / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Label Copy:
Although the specifics are not always know, Wyeth did compensate his models. He had long relationships with many of them and at the time Wyeth painted this portrait he had known Farmer Adam Johnson for 30 years. In an extensive oral history, the artist recalls being drawn to Johnson as an imposing figure and one with a steady, confident presence. The sharp angles with which Wyeth renders Johnson’s make-shift structures and tools contrast with the gently rounded curve of the hill. By choosing blue for the jacket, Wyeth draws the eye to the center of the composition and highlights Johnson’s girth and commanding presence.
Although the specifics are not always know, Wyeth did compensate his models. He had long relationships with many of them and at the time Wyeth painted this portrait he had known Farmer Adam Johnson for 30 years. In an extensive oral history, the artist recalls being drawn to Johnson as an imposing figure and one with a steady, confident presence. The sharp angles with which Wyeth renders Johnson’s make-shift structures and tools contrast with the gently rounded curve of the hill. By choosing blue for the jacket, Wyeth draws the eye to the center of the composition and highlights Johnson’s girth and commanding presence.
Curatorial Remarks
Beginning as a young boy and continuing throughout his life, Andrew Wyeth discovered rich and fascinating subjects while walking through Chadds Ford. One of these was Adam Johnson, a farmer who raised pigs and chickens. Wyeth painted Johnson and the interesting collection of buildings around his farm for many years. Through the artist’s imagination, Johnson became much more than a farmer. As Wyeth explained, "…To me Adam was a fantastic figure. He could have been a Mongol prince. Or Old Kris coming toward me, with all those jingles and the safety pins and things on him." Although certainly not picturesque, the ramshackle, pieced-together quality of Johnson’s farm buildings attracted Wyeth’s eye. "All those shapes of the pigpen… I found a tremendous charge of energy in that strange shack. It reminds me of a train barreling down a track…."
Beginning as a young boy and continuing throughout his life, Andrew Wyeth discovered rich and fascinating subjects while walking through Chadds Ford. One of these was Adam Johnson, a farmer who raised pigs and chickens. Wyeth painted Johnson and the interesting collection of buildings around his farm for many years. Through the artist’s imagination, Johnson became much more than a farmer. As Wyeth explained, "…To me Adam was a fantastic figure. He could have been a Mongol prince. Or Old Kris coming toward me, with all those jingles and the safety pins and things on him." Although certainly not picturesque, the ramshackle, pieced-together quality of Johnson’s farm buildings attracted Wyeth’s eye. "All those shapes of the pigpen… I found a tremendous charge of energy in that strange shack. It reminds me of a train barreling down a track…."
On view