Artist:
Carolyn Wyeth
(American, 1909 - 1994)
Open Window
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1944
Dimensions:
25 × 36 in. (63.5 × 91.4 cm)
Accession number: 79.2
Label Copy:
Carolyn Wyeth underwent vigorous training in her father’s studio, making numerous still-life studies of fundamental forms such as cones and cubes. Her work reflects her ongoing appreciation of the beauty of simple, abstract shapes. Here she reduces forms to their essence, drawing close attention to each individual element in the picture. The wide-open window, billowing curtain, and the single flower create an air of mystery and poignancy, a mood that is often present in her paintings. The flower seems to hold a deeper meaning beyond its physical presence, perhaps symbolizing a bittersweet moment remembered.
Carolyn Wyeth underwent vigorous training in her father’s studio, making numerous still-life studies of fundamental forms such as cones and cubes. Her work reflects her ongoing appreciation of the beauty of simple, abstract shapes. Here she reduces forms to their essence, drawing close attention to each individual element in the picture. The wide-open window, billowing curtain, and the single flower create an air of mystery and poignancy, a mood that is often present in her paintings. The flower seems to hold a deeper meaning beyond its physical presence, perhaps symbolizing a bittersweet moment remembered.
Curatorial RemarksLike her father, N. C. Wyeth, and especially her brother Andrew, Carolyn Wyeth took inspiration for her art directly from immediate surroundings and memories. Her early drawings and paintings under her father’s tutelage demonstrate solid academic training and well-honed observational skills. In her mature work, Carolyn continued to treat objects in her house, props in the studio, scenes outside her window, and familiar places in Chadds Ford and Port Clyde, Maine, as her primary subjects. Her simplified, abstract forms express moods and personal experiences.
In Open Window, the artist pares away detail to focus on shapes and basic characteristics of curtain, flower, window, and table. The tones are somber but rich, and a series of cut-off forms and repeating shapes in the composition enhance the focus on the magenta flower corsage. As in many of Carolyn Wyeth’s works, her landscapes and still lifes evoke mystery.
In Open Window, the artist pares away detail to focus on shapes and basic characteristics of curtain, flower, window, and table. The tones are somber but rich, and a series of cut-off forms and repeating shapes in the composition enhance the focus on the magenta flower corsage. As in many of Carolyn Wyeth’s works, her landscapes and still lifes evoke mystery.