The Apprenticeship of Andrew Wyeth: Painting a Family Legacy

Readers first meet Andrew Wyeth (1917–2009), the future painter of Christina’s World, as a dreamy boy sprawled in tall grass, a sketch pad balanced on his stomach. Creative freedom defined his childhood in rural Pennsylvania, his family encouraging both wild pretend play and serious artmaking. But as Barretta shows, being N.C. Wyeth’s son wasn’t easy—the “larger-than-life” illustrator cast a long shadow portrayed as slowly transforming from constrictive to mutually supportive. Andrew Wyeth’s wife Betsy is introduced as another important relationship—she provides the unwavering support he needs to flourish. Watercolor and colored pencil illustrations evoke the subject’s warm realism, his lived-in color palette, and, above all, his profound humanism, making this picture book biography both aesthetic and informative. Back matter includes reproductions. Ages 5–9. (Oct.)