The Oak 1940 - 1945

Andrew Wyeth made this watercolor, The Oak, at an unknown date. Look at the layering of browns and greens. I can almost feel what it was like to be Wyeth, studying this tree, capturing every ripple and undulation of the bark, from the very bottom to where it disappears out of view. He must have sat there, really still and quiet, for hours, trying to capture the tree’s essence. Look at the leaves and branches. They are like delicate veins reaching for the sky. What Wyeth achieves here is a sense of the tree's vitality and strength. He’s had a conversation with that oak tree, one brushstroke at a time. Wyeth is having his own silent conversation with the history of painting. And now, we’re part of the conversation too.