Celebrating renowned artist N. C. Wyeth who captured rural America in the 20th century

He was a larger-than-life figure whose friends included Hollywood and literary luminaries of the 1920s and '30s such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, and John Gilbert. Despite his celebrity status and commercial success, his lifelong ambition was to achieve public recognition as an accomplished artist.

Now you can discover more in an upcoming exhibition, N. C. Wyeth: New Perspectives, opening 22 June at the Brandywine River Museum of Art. It is the first in-depth show to establish his importance as a painter of the American scene. Capturing rural America during the first half of the 20th century, Wyeth conveyed its sense of rugged individualism and fertile natural landscapes through his superb sense of colour and composition and control of value and light.

Featured among the 70 paintings and drawings selected from major museums and private collections are under-recognised works ranging from Impressionist views of the Pennsylvania countryside to modernist interpretations of the Maine coast. They will be joined by iconic paintings created for murals, literature, magazine stories, and advertisements.

As the implied divisions between illustration and painting as well as commissioned and non-commissioned work have been blurred, it's time to fully explore Wyeth's incredible versatility and his distinct sense of place. N. C. Wyeth: New Perspectives will run until 15 September 2019. Discover more: brandywine.org.