April Wind Study

This study is a preparatory watercolor by Wyeth for the finished tempera April Wind. The figure in both works is James Loper, a Chadds Ford resident and friend whom the artist painted numerous times. Particularly remarkable in this highly finished study is Wyeth’s richly-colored and textured drybrush treatment of Loper’s half-hidden face and gnarled hands. The varied tonal shifts throughout—from deep black to light grey to white—energize the surface and enhance the sensation of the wind lifting up Loper’s jacket behind him.