Andrew Wyeth (b. 1917)

In a letter to the present owners, dated December 18, 1967, Andrew Wyeth recalled The Stanchions, "This I can say is one of my best water colors. It was painted in the wood shed connected to the house in the Olson Farm--Cushing, Maine. The blue berry basket was used by Alvaro Olson, brother to Christina."

In a series of interviews to accompany The Metropolitan Museum of Art's 1976 exhibition Two Worlds of Andrew Wyeth: Kuerners and Olsons, the artist discussed The Stanchions with Thomas Hoving: "Another painting that I find paticularly effective is one called The Stanchions. That wasn't an easy picture to paint, owing to the difficult tonalities. In it I wanted the whole feeling of the worn stanchions where they kept their cow at one time. The blueberry basket particulary fascinated me. It's in the shed where I worked, looking out the small window. The stillness of the place impressed me but it was that blueberry basket that really got to me. I love the way ash baskets are put together. It's more than something made for farm usage. The object transcends that. It's really a remarkable piece of construction. You study a thing like that for a while and you'll see marvelously flat planes on the bulging side. It even reminds me again of some sort of armor or a fine musical instrument with infinitely differing surfaces." (T. Hoving, "An Interview with Andrew Wyeth," The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. XXXIV, Autumn, 1976, p. 165)

This painting was executed in 1967.

This painting will be included in Betsy James Wyeth's forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist's work.

Pre-Lot Text

Property from the Collection of HARRIET AND MORTIMER SPILLER, BUFFALO, NEW YORK