From collection Kosti Ruohomaa Collection
LB2017.19.1437
Betsy (née James) Wyeth, wife of Andrew Wyeth, sits on the arm of a sofa holding a lit cigarette in her upraised right hand and an extinguished match in her left. Seated on the sofa next to her are her mother, Elizabeth James (née Browning), and her older son Nick Wyeth, who later became an art dealer specializing in original works by his father. 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. Betsy Wyeth reportedly did not have a fond recollection of the visit: she complained of Ruohomaa's penchant for alcohol and his habit of dropping cigarette ash on the floor.
