LB2017.19.1401

LB2017.19.1401

Andrew Wyeth poses with his family atop a large boulder on the beach below their Cushing, Maine summer residence. Seated L to R: Wyeth's younger son James "Jamie" Wyeth, who later became a renowned painter as well (foreground); Nicholas "Nick" Wyeth, the older Wyeth son; Andrew Wyeth (background); and Betsy Wyeth (his wife). Ruohomaa met American realist painter Andrew Wyeth in 1947 through their mutual acquaintance, the sculptor George Curtis. The two enjoyed a long friendship and had a few eccentric adventures (see "Kosti Ruohomaa: Andrew Wyeth Collects a Hearse" and "Kosti Ruohomaa: Andrew Wyeth's Deserted House"). Arguably, they also shared some artistic affinities. For example, each had his own way of imbuing otherwise ordinary scenes with complex emotion, and both men often seemed to view their subjects as elemental forces. The painter invited the photographer to his family's summer home in Cushing, Maine for a visit of several days in June and July of 1951. The occasion yielded some notable portraits of Wyeth and his family; in effect, Ruohomaa was able to study Wyeth in one of his native habitats.