Silent Fields

Beginning as a student of N. C. Wyeth, John W. McCoy deepened his relationship with the Wyeth family through his friendship with Andrew Wyeth and his marriage to Andrew’s sister Ann. He continued painting in the Brandywine tradition, highlighting the people and places of the region, while teaching at the Pennsylvania Academy from 1946 until 1961. In this snow-covered scene, McCoy explores the natural and man-made elements of the landscape. Trees and grasses, blend with fence posts and utility poles. As the title suggests, the setting is quiet but the downed barbed wire fence in the foreground implies this property has been neglected and may not buzz with life again in the spring.