Man Reading, Monhegan 1974

Jamie Wyeth captured this scene at Monhegan with watercolor. Look at the white of that building, it dominates. I wonder how he was feeling as he painted, did he want to depict the man reading in the window, or was that building more interesting to him? The way the paint sits on the surface gives the building a textured quality, almost like it’s been weathered by the sea air. I see Wyeth’s exploration of light and shadow— a dance that animates the structure and the jagged rocks. It’s like he's trying to grasp something elusive, something about the way light defines form. Painters, we're all in this ongoing conversation, aren't we? We see what others have done and then riff on it, trying to add our own voice to the chorus. I'm left pondering how Wyeth’s work echoes and perhaps challenges the traditions of American realism. It all just builds on each other.