An exhibit highlighting three generations of Wyeths debuts in Delaware at Biggs

The Biggs Museum of American Art invites you to see its newest major exhibition, "The Wyeths: Three Generations: Works from the Bank of America Collection,'' from Thursday, Nov. 2, through Sunday, Feb. 11.

For three generations, the Wyeths have created art that captures the imagination and admiration of a wide audience.

Visitors can enjoy more than 70 paintings, drawings and illustrations by N.C. (Newell Converse) Wyeth, his son Andrew Wyeth, his daughter Henriette and his grandson Jamie Wyeth.

This exhibition presents both an opportunity for fans of Wyeth to see a comprehensive scope of artwork that has not been on view locally, and for people who are not as familiar with art history, to see an exhibition with works that span over 100 years and learn about why the Wyeths are considered significant to American art.

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Hailing from Wilmington and the Brandywine Valley, the Wyeth family is a noteworthy contributor to Delaware arts and culture. In fact, the pieces from this exhibit were all collected in Delaware, then shown both nationally and internationally. While the works have been seen around the world, this exhibition at the Biggs presents the first opportunity to view the collection within the state.

The exhibition includes N.C. Wyeth’s illustrations for books by Robert Louis Stevenson and Washington Irving as well as historical scenes, seascapes and landscapes; examples of Henriette Wyeth’s portraits of family members and still life paintings; important works by Andrew Wyeth from the 1970s and 1980s, as well as more recent paintings; and eighteen works in oil and mixed media representing all periods of Jamie Wyeth’s career.

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Adding to the lure of this eminent family of artists is Victoria Browning Wyeth, who will be on-site at the museum for various events connecting the works of art to the personal stories of her family. Victoria is the only grandchild of iconic artist Andrew Wyeth, is the daughter of Nicholas and Jane Wyeth. Her father is a private art dealer, and her mother is an art advisor who was trained as an art historian. Victoria Browning Wyeth is also the great-granddaughter of illustrator N.C. Wyeth and the niece of contemporary realist Jamie Wyeth.

This exhibition found its way to Dover through the Bank of America Art in our Communities® program.

“Bank of America is steadfast in our belief that the arts matter as both a cultural and economic driver for communities,” said Chip Rossi, president, Bank of America Delaware. “The Biggs Museum of American Art has been a mainstay of the Central Delaware cultural landscape for decades, and we are thrilled to share this important exhibit from our collection with The Biggs and its patrons.”

The museum will be holding an opening reception for this exhibit on Thursday, Nov. 2, from 6 to 8 p.m. Members are invited to attend at no charge. Those who are not yet museum members can purchase a membership online at www.biggsmuseum.org or may attend by paying the museum’s regular admission fee of $10 to be among the first to explore this important exhibition. Victoria Browning Wyeth will be on-site conducting small pop-up tours throughout the evening.

On Friday, Nov. 3, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Victoria Browning Wyeth will present a free lecture, titled ''Andrew Wyeth: Then and Now,'' at the Schwartz Center in Dover.

This engaging presentation will explore the subject matter, technique and inside stories surrounding the major works of her late grandfather, Andrew Wyeth, from his first watercolor at age 6 to his final tempera painted on Benner Island, Maine, in 2009.

Attendees are encouraged to visit and explore the museum prior to the lecture. To accommodate later visits, the museum will remain open until 6:30 p.m. on this day.

This special event is brought to you in partnership with Delaware State University, and has been partially funded by the Delaware Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The museum is located at 406 Federal St. in Dover. Hours are Thursday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Kerri Lacey, Biggs Museum of American Art, director of Marketing & Public Relations

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Biggs Museum opens a major exhibition, The Wyeths: Three Generations