Andrew Wyeth Retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Andrew Wyeth: Memory and Magic, an exhibition that examines seven decades of the world renowned artist from Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania will run from March 29 through July 16, 2006 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The retrospective includes more than 100 works, among them tempera paintings and watercolors from the 1930s to the present. As detailed in the museum’s official release, the exhibition explores "in depth Wyeth’s frequently unadorned and often haunting images - ranging from natural forms like rocks and trees and humble containers such as buckets, to stark rooms, windows with curtains lifted in the breeze, bare hills, and people lost in deep introspection. The works, many of which draw upon his boyhood experiences in and lifelong affection for the Brandywine Valley near Philadelphia and on the coast of Maine, are lent from public and private collections across the country and from the private collection of Andrew and Betsy Wyeth."

Andrew Wyeth: Memory and Magic explores the major themes that have occupied Wyeth’s art over the past 70 years, including nature studies that "frequently evoke the transience of life, images of vessels and thresholds that metaphorically signal various kinds of transitions, and still lifes and portraits that may suggest or record the people who have appeared in his life."

Among the works on view are 58 paintings in egg tempera (a technique so time - consuming and intense that Wyeth completes only about two paintings a year), 27 watercolors, 16 works in drybrush, 5 pencil drawings and two rare early oil paintings. The exhibition is organized largely into thematic sections in which early, middle, and recent work is juxtaposed.

Highlights of the exhibition include many familiar images drawn from Wyeth’s art over the past 70 years featuring familiar locations and themes in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and Maine where Wyeth, now 89, spends his summers.
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Ticket Information and Prices

Adult: $20
Senior, student: $17
Children 5 - 12: $10
Children 4 and under: Free

Tickets include a complimentary audio tour. For information, including special discounts and other promotions, call 215-235-SHOW (7469) or visit www.philamuseum.org. Service charges apply for tickets purchased via the web.

Exhibition Hours

The exhibition is open during normal museum hours. There are extended hours on weekends (Saturdays and Sundays until 7 p.m.). Normally closed on Mondays, the exhibition will have special Monday hours on May 29, July 3, and July 10. Hours are subject to change and may be expanded to include added hours in the final days of the exhibition.

Travel Discounts

Visitors to the exhibition can save 50% off the best available rail fare for one traveling companion ticket with each paid full adult ticket purchase on Amtrak travel to Philadelphia or Wilmington on Northeast Corridor Regional Trains. Visit www.amtrak.com or call 1-800-USA-RAIL and refer to code V716. Reservations must be made at least three (3) days in advance of travel. There is limited availability. Blackout dates and other restrictions apply.

Special Hotel Packages

Eight special overnight packages including Wyeth tickets are available at Best Western Center City Hotel, Courtyard Philadelphia Downtown, Four Seasons Hotel, the Latham Hotel, Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, The Rittenhouse Hotel, and the Ritz Carlton Hotel. These packages offer attractive rates for stays that include tickets to the exhibition, other amenities and provide visitors with time to explore the Brandywine River Valley where Wyeth makes his home. For information, visit the Museum’s website.