'Fascinating And Also A Little Bit Uncomfortable': Andrew Wyeth At 100

"In 1977, nearly 30 years after Andrew Wyeth's most famous painting "Christina's World" was created, critic Robert Rosenblum was asked to name the most overrated and most underrated artists. He put Wyeth in both categories."

"'Robert Rosenblum's comment is accurate to a degree but also simplistic,' says Michael Komanecki, chief curator at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine. He's often asked to weigh in on Wyeth. 'Andy has been described to me as, 'Oh, the critics treat him so badly.' Well, it's not at all true — he enjoyed a tremendous critical reputation for decades.'"

"Wyeth has certainly enjoyed tremendous commercial success. The Farnsworth has an entire center devoted to the work of Andrew Wyeth, his father N.C. Wyeth and Andrew's son Jamie Wyeth. The museum's collection of Andrew's work shows a range that's broader than the seemingly literal realism of his familiar paintings — with their fine brushwork, muted palette and depictions of his rural neighbors. Here, there are watercolors of coastlines with energetic, impressionistic brushstrokes and a bright palette. These are surprises."