0:00:08 > 0:00:11This is Maine on America's northeast coast.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15It's the perfect holiday destination for wealthy New Englanders seeking
0:00:15 > 0:00:18to escape the heat and humidity of the summer months.
0:00:18 > 0:00:19Thank you.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23Between July and September, each year, these sparsely populated
0:00:23 > 0:00:27coastal towns swell to capacity with handsome, well-heeled vacationers.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37But there's another side to Maine,
0:00:37 > 0:00:43one where people graft hard for a living on land and sea -
0:00:43 > 0:00:47a rural, rugged existence which fed the penetrating gaze of artist
0:00:47 > 0:00:49Andrew Wyeth
0:00:49 > 0:00:52and fuelled his long and extraordinary career.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58Wyeth not only immortalised the American landscape, he created
0:00:58 > 0:01:02interior worlds, hidden histories,
0:01:02 > 0:01:04intrigue and magic.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09His unflinching vision didn't always please the art world
0:01:09 > 0:01:13but it captured the hearts and minds of the American people.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19My exploration of Wyeth's long life and prolific work begins here,
0:01:19 > 0:01:22at this remote farmstead.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25It was this rural side of Maine that, in 1948,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28inspired Andrew Wyeth to paint his masterpiece,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31a work that became an icon of American art and a painting
0:01:31 > 0:01:35which has puzzled and intrigued me from the first time I saw it.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Wyeth's most famous painting was named after its subject -
0:01:40 > 0:01:43a woman he once described as a wounded gull.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47The painting was called, Christina's World.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07The backdrop to Wyeth's painting of Christina's World is
0:02:07 > 0:02:10this 18th-century farmhouse.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12Now preserved as a state museum,
0:02:12 > 0:02:14the farm once owned by the Olson family
0:02:14 > 0:02:17has become a destination for modern pilgrims who want
0:02:17 > 0:02:22to experience the almost spiritual significance of this location.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26Janice Kasper, once a tour guide here, shows me around.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30So, here's the house and it's been here for quite a while
0:02:30 > 0:02:32and you can see it's... Weathered.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34..weathered. Yeah, yeah.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45When Andrew Wyeth first started to paint here during his
0:02:45 > 0:02:49family summer holidays in the 1940s, the farm was owned
0:02:49 > 0:02:53and run by Alvaro Olson and his unmarried sister, Christina.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59They lived without electricity into the 1950s.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02They collected rainwater off the roof...was their water supply
0:03:02 > 0:03:04and they lived off the land.
0:03:04 > 0:03:05Yeah.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09So, I want to show you something in this hallway...
0:03:10 > 0:03:13..and if we scoot down... Yeah.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17..this is Christina's refrigerator, so that when I slide it open...
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Oh, yes. ..you can feel how cold it is.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23And you can see the shelves. Absolutely, yeah. Yeah?
0:03:23 > 0:03:26And it's also a way to get down and check the cistern. Simple technology.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28Yes. Yeah.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36Alvaro and Christina's hand-to-mouth existence on the farm
0:03:36 > 0:03:39was not the only challenge they faced.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43When Christina was a little girl, her mother noticed that she fell a lot.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46And then, as she got older, it got progressively worse,
0:03:46 > 0:03:51her legs got weaker and then by the time I think she was in her
0:03:51 > 0:03:55forties, she pretty much lost the use of her legs.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59And she was one of these tough, proud stubborn women,
0:03:59 > 0:04:05who refused to use cane or crutches or a wheelchair.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09She was going to get around on her own ability and in this house,
0:04:09 > 0:04:13I understand, she would hitch herself around in a chair or
0:04:13 > 0:04:16she would crawl and outside she crawled.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Christina's disability meant that the upstairs
0:04:25 > 0:04:27floors of the house were out of her reach.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30They were closed up and used for storage,
0:04:30 > 0:04:34until Andrew Wyeth began to use the rooms as makeshift studios.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43There's one painting he made from up here, which for me,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46really captures the essence of the place.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55When Wyeth prised up this window, it hadn't been opened for years.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59Such was his attention to detail that he waited for two
0:04:59 > 0:05:01months for the wind to change in the right
0:05:01 > 0:05:03direction before completing the painting.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08It was also from up here that he first saw Christina,
0:05:08 > 0:05:12dragging herself through the grass like, as he put it,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15a crab on a New England shore.
0:05:28 > 0:05:33This painting really is much less simple than you think at first sight.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36I mean, I remember when I first saw it, I thought that
0:05:36 > 0:05:39the figure in the foreground was a young girl and we know that
0:05:39 > 0:05:42Christina here was in her mid-fifties
0:05:42 > 0:05:43and she was a paraplegic...
0:05:43 > 0:05:46and that's the way she moved through the grass.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49You know, when you understand it's not a purely realistic picture,
0:05:49 > 0:05:52he's trying to express something through this picture,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55to try and work out what it is he's expressing...
0:05:55 > 0:05:59And from what I can see here is Christina looking up at the farm,
0:05:59 > 0:06:03which she can never get away from and there's something there
0:06:03 > 0:06:05almost...she's almost trapped.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09It's almost like she won't get away, despite this vast open space,
0:06:09 > 0:06:11despite all the potential of it,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14there's something quite dark going on there.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16So is she trying to get away or is she trying to get back?
0:06:16 > 0:06:20I don't know. It's just...it's a puzzle. Raises so many questions.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Although Christina was an important muse for Wyeth,
0:06:27 > 0:06:31he also painted scenes in and around the Olson farm for more
0:06:31 > 0:06:35than 30 summers, producing over 300 distinctive works.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42When Christina Olson died in 1968,
0:06:42 > 0:06:45it closed an important chapter in Wyeth's career...
0:06:49 > 0:06:53..but by far the largest portion of his work was created in a very
0:06:53 > 0:06:56different landscape, 500 miles south of here.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, Wyeth's permanent
0:07:08 > 0:07:13home from his birth in 1917 to his death in 2009,
0:07:13 > 0:07:18is a small town with a big place in American history.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31These meadows by the Brandywine River were once battlefields,
0:07:31 > 0:07:34almost 220 years ago to the day.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37British and American soldiers fought each other here
0:07:37 > 0:07:40in the War of Independence or the Great Revolutionary War,
0:07:40 > 0:07:44as the Brandywine Re-enactors prefer to call it.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Have you ever had the pleasure of firing one of these? No, no...
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Oh, my friend. Is it a great pleasure? I think so.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58I can see you like it, there's a sparkle in your eye,
0:07:58 > 0:08:03which makes me think there's an element of...some danger there.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Do you have a pair of glasses? Yeah. Just for safety's sake.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Just to be careful. There might be some stuff flying about?
0:08:09 > 0:08:13You get powder that flashes up when the powder is ignited.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18It's meant to go that way. Well, you know, it will, it will.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20OK...will this kick fire?
0:08:20 > 0:08:23There shouldn't be that much of a kick cos there isn't a bullet in it.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25OK.
0:08:25 > 0:08:26GUN FIRES
0:08:26 > 0:08:27HE LAUGHS
0:08:27 > 0:08:30More, please!
0:08:30 > 0:08:35Sorry, sorry! British. You got 'em running, you got 'em running.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39How important was the battle that was fought
0:08:39 > 0:08:43here in the Brandywine river? Oh, the battle was very important.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46This is, one, the largest land battle of the revolution
0:08:46 > 0:08:49and you had the British over on this side over here
0:08:49 > 0:08:50and the Americans on this side.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53Now, the landscape is not going to be very reflective of what it was
0:08:53 > 0:08:57in the 18th century, you had a lot more concealment, a lot more cover.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00In the morning hours, it was just basic scattered musket
0:09:00 > 0:09:03shot across the river, back and forth, between the two armies.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06But in the afternoon that's when the British started crossing
0:09:06 > 0:09:10and the fierce fighting really took place.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12SHOTS FIRING
0:09:13 > 0:09:17Locals say the river behind me ran red with the blood of dying
0:09:17 > 0:09:21and injured bodies of British and American officers.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24But despite the setback at the Brandywine river,
0:09:24 > 0:09:26the Americans went on to win their war against the British
0:09:26 > 0:09:30oppressors and claim this vast country as their own -
0:09:30 > 0:09:34a country that Wyeth's father raised his son to always feel
0:09:34 > 0:09:36proud to belong to.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Andrew Wyeth was born into a wealthy,
0:09:46 > 0:09:48artistic family of Swiss-German origin.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Known as Andy, he was the youngest of five children,
0:09:56 > 0:10:00doted on by his three older sisters, particularly Ann,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02his constant childhood companion.
0:10:03 > 0:10:08So, what was it like, you know, for your mother and Andrew,
0:10:08 > 0:10:12who were two years apart, growing up in this house?
0:10:12 > 0:10:15What was their relationship, how did they get along?
0:10:15 > 0:10:19They were wonderful friends. Of course, they slept in the same bed.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22They played together
0:10:22 > 0:10:27and as children they did everything together in the beginning.
0:10:27 > 0:10:32At some point, I mean, they drew, there was always paper.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35But they played up in these woods, they dressed up,
0:10:35 > 0:10:39they played Robin Hood, they played knights.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42They did all the things that Grandpa was painting.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46They young Andrew's love of storybook war
0:10:46 > 0:10:51and heroism was fed not only by the battle-scarred history around him
0:10:51 > 0:10:54but also by his great influence and teacher,
0:10:54 > 0:10:58his larger-than-life father, Newell Convers Wyeth.
0:11:02 > 0:11:07Known as NC or Pa to his family, he was a celebrated artist,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10sought-after for his dynamic picture-book illustrations
0:11:10 > 0:11:12which brought history to life.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20His work for Scribner's Classics had generations of readers spellbound.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25NC was so successful as a commercial artist
0:11:25 > 0:11:28he was able to build a grand family home,
0:11:28 > 0:11:32construct a studio behind it and pay for the surrounding 18 acres
0:11:32 > 0:11:35of land with a commission for one single work...
0:11:37 > 0:11:39..Treasure Island.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42You know, he was so real to all of us.
0:11:42 > 0:11:47It was always what Pa said, what Pa did, what he thought.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50I mean, he created this world for us all.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57He dressed up as Old Chris. Santa Claus?
0:11:57 > 0:12:00And he actually got up on the roof
0:12:00 > 0:12:05and he stamped around and he rang bells down that chimney...
0:12:07 > 0:12:09..and woke them up.
0:12:09 > 0:12:15And they came down to see him just out of the corner of their eye, leaving.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20There's something about this family that I think is remarkable.
0:12:20 > 0:12:25There's a quality of joy and life, of joy in everything and Grandpa had
0:12:25 > 0:12:29that and my mother had that and she kept on with that and Andy had that.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32It's just opening the box, it's the ribbon,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35it's just joy at life...
0:12:35 > 0:12:39of just... "God, isn't it great!?"
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Andy's childhood was exciting and idyllic
0:12:52 > 0:12:54but also dogged by ill health -
0:12:54 > 0:12:57recurring chest infections and a problem with his hip,
0:12:57 > 0:12:59which affected him throughout his life.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04But neither of them seemed to temper his inquisitive nature
0:13:04 > 0:13:06and boisterous creative energy.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12And so he was kind of an "enfant terrible"
0:13:12 > 0:13:13in a way, you know.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15He was allowed, you know,
0:13:15 > 0:13:20he was precocious and he was not denied anything.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32NC decided his youngest son was too fragile for public school,
0:13:32 > 0:13:34so Andy was tutored at home.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40He was free to roam around his father's studio,
0:13:40 > 0:13:44where epic scenes of American heroism were being conjured up
0:13:44 > 0:13:48with the help of period costumes and historical regalia.
0:14:02 > 0:14:07NC Wyeth was an enormously successful commercial artist
0:14:07 > 0:14:09and yet all this didn't really matter to him.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13He was determined to shape his gifted young son into the kind
0:14:13 > 0:14:16of fine art painter that he himself had never really become.
0:14:16 > 0:14:22He wanted his son to be free, both artistically and personally.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29Andrew found heroism not in a costumed and constructed
0:14:29 > 0:14:34world like his father's but in the reality of everyday life.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41His first show at the Macbeth Gallery in New York in 1937
0:14:41 > 0:14:43was a sell-out.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51So impressed was his father that he proclaimed that his son,
0:14:51 > 0:14:55Andrew, was on the right track to reach the pinnacle of American art.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58So, no pressure there!
0:15:02 > 0:15:07This is an early self-portrait of Andrew, painted just after
0:15:07 > 0:15:09he'd had big success in New York with an exhibition.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12He was 21 years old.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16I think it's quite interesting cos he's sort of projecting
0:15:16 > 0:15:20himself as a serious, successful artist but at the same time,
0:15:20 > 0:15:22there's something in the eyes,
0:15:22 > 0:15:24a kind of weariness of "don't read me too easily" -
0:15:24 > 0:15:26there's something of a mystery there.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29Erm, and this was one of the first paintings that he
0:15:29 > 0:15:32painted in egg tempera.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37He'd rejected the oil paints that his father, NC Wyeth, had brought
0:15:37 > 0:15:42him up to use and I can only think that that must have been deliberate.
0:15:42 > 0:15:47That to try and escape from the shadow of his celebrated father,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50he chose different subjects
0:15:50 > 0:15:54but also different materials to paint those subjects.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02The Brandywine River Museum houses the largest collection of both
0:16:02 > 0:16:05NC and Andrew Wyeth's work.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11Joyce Stoner and her team are tasked with the conserving
0:16:11 > 0:16:13the painting of both father and son.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15The self-portrait that he did,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18was that the first time he used egg tempera?
0:16:18 > 0:16:21Oh, yes, he hits the ground running with the self-portrait
0:16:21 > 0:16:23and then the portrait of Walt Anderson.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27They're done so similarly and they were,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30sort of, brothers under the skin at that time.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Andrew was fascinated with outsiders
0:16:33 > 0:16:35and especially trickster-pranksters.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39He had to feel a special kinship and Walt Anderson,
0:16:39 > 0:16:43who is pictured in Young Swede is a wonderful example of this.
0:16:43 > 0:16:48Walt is a trickster, he is a lobster poacher, apparently he and Andy
0:16:48 > 0:16:50would steal boats together and so they were...
0:16:50 > 0:16:53He loved anyone who was a pirate.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55And so Walt was an original pirate
0:16:55 > 0:17:00and you see how he paints Walt as this incredibly handsome
0:17:00 > 0:17:03young man that they did things together and had fun and he
0:17:03 > 0:17:07loved it, that he was a pirate and he was always breaking the rules.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Andrew Wyeth also bucked the trend
0:17:13 > 0:17:15when it came to his painting technique.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19He chose to work in egg tempera, a challenging medium,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22barely used since the 16th century.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26So, it started with someone picking up an egg...
0:17:26 > 0:17:27what are you going to do with it?
0:17:27 > 0:17:31I think you're going to do it. How do you like it, scrambled, boiled?
0:17:31 > 0:17:35What we're going to do is we're going to separate the egg yolk
0:17:35 > 0:17:40from the white, so go ahead and break the egg. OK... There we go.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42Let the white fall into the jar.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45Yeah, there we are and there's the yolk and now what?
0:17:45 > 0:17:49Pass it from hand to hand and you can wipe your hands on that.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52I've honestly never done this before, not ever, ever.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56Oh, I'm quite good at this, actually. Whoa, no! OK. Oh, dear.
0:17:56 > 0:17:57Well, there we are, you see.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01That's why we've brought more than one. I was getting over-confident.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03'Wyeth's decision to use egg tempera was bold.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06'Not only did he need to mix paint from egg yolk
0:18:06 > 0:18:08'and pigments every time he started
0:18:08 > 0:18:12'but its quick drying properties meant he had to work fast.'
0:18:14 > 0:18:16And mix that up, we now have paint.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19OK. Why did they do that? Why did discover that egg
0:18:19 > 0:18:21and pigment went together particularly well?
0:18:21 > 0:18:25It's actually a very good binder to hold pigments to a surface,
0:18:25 > 0:18:27so a painting...
0:18:27 > 0:18:29We know between the Middle Ages
0:18:29 > 0:18:32up until around 1500, it was the dominant paint medium in Europe.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36Right. So when we think about it, especially with early Italian
0:18:36 > 0:18:39paintings, so the early masters, Giotto through Masaccio.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41Was it discovered in the Renaissance or before?
0:18:41 > 0:18:43It actually predates the Renaissance,
0:18:43 > 0:18:45so if we think of late medieval paintings,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48the earlier icons are all painted in egg tempera.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51He loved taking tempera where it shouldn't go
0:18:51 > 0:18:53and when people told him
0:18:53 > 0:18:57you couldn't paint tempera at night, that it wasn't a night medium,
0:18:57 > 0:18:59he painted Walt Anderson again, poaching lobsters
0:18:59 > 0:19:04and is called Night Hauling and he'd push tempera to look like night.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07If you also look up close at the temperas,
0:19:07 > 0:19:09they look like trodden weeds up close.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11It looks like a micro Jackson Pollock.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13It looks like a little explosion
0:19:13 > 0:19:17because he is doing things you're not supposed to do with tempera.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23So these are the Andrew Wyeth Galleries
0:19:23 > 0:19:25and they're changed periodically
0:19:25 > 0:19:27with wonderful things, the Young Swede
0:19:27 > 0:19:31and this fabulous thing of his dog, it looks like a railroad.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35Here are all the different ones he painted in Chadds Ford.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38Joyce, there's a perception that when you look at Wyeth's work,
0:19:38 > 0:19:40you're looking at the work of a realist,
0:19:40 > 0:19:43albeit maybe a romantic realist and then you see a painting
0:19:43 > 0:19:46like this and that's almost abstract in the shapes and all that.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48How did he see what he was doing
0:19:48 > 0:19:50and how did others see what he was doing?
0:19:50 > 0:19:55Oh, well, absolutely. He was very aware of powerful shapes and forms.
0:19:55 > 0:19:56If you look at the roof
0:19:56 > 0:20:00and the powerful beams coming out at you,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02it's a very...and the shadows,
0:20:02 > 0:20:05it's very powerful and very spooky, really.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09Jets out against the grey sky. But next to it there's this sketch.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11Did he do preliminary sketches?
0:20:11 > 0:20:14He often did preliminary sketches,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17while he was working on conceptualising
0:20:17 > 0:20:20what the sort of magic realism,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23this spooky, this chilly sense of death...
0:20:23 > 0:20:27So this is a wonderful comparison of the whoosh with the precise
0:20:27 > 0:20:30and showing them right together.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35So this was...is this a watercolour? Yes, it's ink and watercolour.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38And you can just see it slightly more, the greys are slightly
0:20:38 > 0:20:41lighter and the shadings on the birds are slightly lighter.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45Here's a much bolder, blacker shade. Exactly, exactly...
0:20:45 > 0:20:49Here we see another version of the two worlds of Andrew Wyeth -
0:20:49 > 0:20:53the free splash and dash of the watercolour and then the exactitude
0:20:53 > 0:20:56but they do work together, as you can see him
0:20:56 > 0:20:59working out in his mind how to do this.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06Was part of the reason why he chose to paint in tempera to distinguish
0:21:06 > 0:21:10himself from his father and his father's preference for oils?
0:21:10 > 0:21:11Absolutely!
0:21:11 > 0:21:15Andrew had to rebel from NC and so you can really look at how the
0:21:15 > 0:21:19media bounce around as they try to get out of each other's way,
0:21:19 > 0:21:22cos there is tremendous love
0:21:22 > 0:21:25and tremendous competition in that family. Yes.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34It was not just Andrew Wyeth's unique painting style which helped
0:21:34 > 0:21:38him break away from his father's often overbearing influence.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41It was also the love of a determined young woman,
0:21:41 > 0:21:44whom he met in the summer of 1939.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Betsy James was brought up in New England, the daughter
0:21:52 > 0:21:56of a Welsh picture editor and a well-bred Christian mother.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02With her striking looks she was a force to be reckoned with.
0:22:06 > 0:22:11Despite NC's objections, Andrew, not one to pussyfoot around,
0:22:11 > 0:22:16proposed to Betsy within weeks of meeting her. She accepted.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20Betsy was 18 and Andrew was 21.
0:22:22 > 0:22:27The marriage produced two boys - Nicky and Jamie -
0:22:27 > 0:22:30and lasted 69 years until Wyeth's death.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36I was very fortunate to run into her.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39I didn't know I had that many brains so young.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43We're different.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47It's not always peaceful but nothing good is peaceful. Remember that.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53If you have got too much peace, God help you.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56You have to have a kick in the tail, once in a while.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00But we have a great time.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03We don't have a dull moment, I can tell you that.
0:23:06 > 0:23:11Wanting to keep his young son close, NC gifted the newlyweds
0:23:11 > 0:23:14a property near to the Wyeth family home.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18The old schoolhouse became not only a home for his young family
0:23:18 > 0:23:21but also Andrew's first studio of his own.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25Away from his father, Betsy's influence over him
0:23:25 > 0:23:28increased as their son, Jamie, remembers.
0:23:28 > 0:23:29It was a painting,
0:23:29 > 0:23:33a tempera which was a medium that he was just really starting with
0:23:33 > 0:23:37and it was just a figure walking away in a field.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41And he was very excited about it and asked his father to come see it
0:23:41 > 0:23:44and his father said, "Andy, you know, it's remarkable,
0:23:44 > 0:23:49"but you need to put a gun in his hand and you have to have dogs,"
0:23:49 > 0:23:52but completely missing what his son was doing. Yes.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56And Betsy, who was probably 18,
0:23:56 > 0:23:59said, "Don't listen to that old fart.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03"You do exactly what you're doing." Yeah. Pretty amazing.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07With no knowledge of painting, she got it and she obviously
0:24:07 > 0:24:10adored his work and thought, "This is incredible,"
0:24:10 > 0:24:12what's being produced here.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15"This is a world that is extraordinary." Yeah.
0:24:15 > 0:24:20My father was very close to his father and his father was
0:24:20 > 0:24:23very close to him, I mean, he just wanted to control him.
0:24:23 > 0:24:28Young Betsy James was his escape away from that.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31But in a way, he married his father.
0:24:31 > 0:24:36I mean, she became totally the one then controlling but gave him
0:24:36 > 0:24:39freedom to do exactly what he wanted but kept track of what was
0:24:39 > 0:24:44being painted, what was... Titles, he titled everything.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48Did she? So, Christina's World... Totally. Really?
0:24:48 > 0:24:51He just painted and then showed it to her.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Betsy took every opportunity to promote her husband's work.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04Before long, the marriage evolved into a business partnership,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07but the boundaries between family and work began to blur.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Well, I mean, it wasn't that my father was going to work
0:25:14 > 0:25:15putting a tie on.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19It was just he would wander in from the breakfast table and we
0:25:19 > 0:25:24would wander in as children, lying on the floor here doing drawing.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26But it was just... this was our house.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29When you see some of these drawings here,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32do they bring back memories? Do you know what they're all about?
0:25:32 > 0:25:35When he was working, he would have drawings tacked all over the wall,
0:25:35 > 0:25:37all over the floor.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41As you see, there are footprints, dog prints stepping on them.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44I mean, he would be completely immersed in what he was doing,
0:25:44 > 0:25:49totally forgetting time and in fact, he was a wild painter.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52I mean, water was thrown, paint was all over the floor.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55He liked accidents. Really? Really? Interesting.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58And then it all gets filtered down, the final product.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02Starts to be distilled. Interesting, yeah.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05He is a very peculiar painter - Andrew Wyeth.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08I mean, it's this funny, airless, crystalline world
0:26:08 > 0:26:12particularly in the temperas and it was a very strange,
0:26:12 > 0:26:16peculiar world which I think makes his work extraordinary. Yeah.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32Although Wyeth had an official studio indoors, his unofficial
0:26:32 > 0:26:36outdoor studio was the whole of Chadds Ford.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42Andrew Wyeth painted uninterrupted for almost seven full decades,
0:26:42 > 0:26:44one of the longest careers of any artist.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46What he painted here at Chadds Ford
0:26:46 > 0:26:49was confined to just a few square miles.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52This small piece of territory and the people who occupied it
0:26:52 > 0:26:56revealed to Wyeth a world so deep and detailed that no matter how
0:26:56 > 0:27:00often he painted it, he always discovered something new.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09But there was one location within Chadds Ford which would
0:27:09 > 0:27:14become more important to him than any other. At the Kuerner farm,
0:27:14 > 0:27:16Wyeth would produce hundreds of sketches
0:27:16 > 0:27:19and paintings over a period of 70 years.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36As with Christina and the Olsen farm, the inspiration that Wyeth
0:27:36 > 0:27:39drew from this one location was boundless.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42He started painting it when he was 15
0:27:42 > 0:27:44and stopped the year before he died.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47He was fascinated not just by the farm and the landscape around it,
0:27:47 > 0:27:50but also by the Kuerner family who lived here -
0:27:50 > 0:27:52enigmatic outsiders, German immigrants.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54He was fascinated by their connection
0:27:54 > 0:27:57with the Teutonic old world of his ancestors.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03Wyeth was attracted to the rhythms of life here as well as
0:28:03 > 0:28:06to its owners - farmer, Karl Kuerner, his wife, Anna,
0:28:06 > 0:28:07and the children.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13Their son, Karl Junior, remembers seeing Wyeth painting in
0:28:13 > 0:28:15and around the farm.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Everybody liked Andrew Wyeth.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21He would come early mornings.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25We never knew he would be up in the woods painting or we'd be
0:28:25 > 0:28:27cutting along and we'd see him
0:28:27 > 0:28:30and we would say hello and I'd say, "Andy,"
0:28:30 > 0:28:32I said, "stay away from the hay field.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35I said, "We'll come with our big cutter and we cut your toes off!"
0:28:37 > 0:28:39Karl Junior's father intrigued Wyeth,
0:28:39 > 0:28:44not just because of his German ancestry but also his experience
0:28:44 > 0:28:47in battle as a machine-gunner in the First World War.
0:28:49 > 0:28:54My father talked a lot about the First World War.
0:28:54 > 0:29:00It gave Andy a lot of ideas and being in the trenches,
0:29:00 > 0:29:04you know, that fierce fighting...
0:29:04 > 0:29:07my father lost a lot of his close friends.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10And he says, "When you're in the trenches,
0:29:10 > 0:29:17"you have to keep your head down." To me it made him very stern.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20It was like working for a German officer.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22You take the good with the bad.
0:29:25 > 0:29:29Karl's mother, Anna, was a continual source of fascination for Wyeth.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33He portrayed her as a lost soul,
0:29:33 > 0:29:36an almost spectral figure.
0:29:36 > 0:29:40My mother was very quiet, congenial.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42I think she was homesick,
0:29:42 > 0:29:48she wanted to take us children all back to Germany.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52My father said, "No, you can't do that now."
0:29:52 > 0:29:55He says, "We're here, we have to make the best of it."
0:29:55 > 0:29:59I understand that there was a Wyeth family tragedy here
0:29:59 > 0:30:02and you were working on the farm close to where it happened.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06We were up there husking corn. We heard this crash.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10I thought an aeroplane come down or something. A big noise.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14Big noise. And I said to all the fellows, "Wait here, I'll walk down,
0:30:14 > 0:30:16"see what happened."
0:30:19 > 0:30:21Andrew Wyeth's father, NC,
0:30:21 > 0:30:25was driving his car with his four-year-old grandson in the back
0:30:25 > 0:30:29when tragedy struck on a railroad at the foot of Kuerner's farm.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40NC Wyeth and his young grandson were killed outright
0:30:40 > 0:30:42when the car in which they were travelling
0:30:42 > 0:30:47was hit by a train on this railway line in October 1945.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50But no-one knows the cause of the accident.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52Was it mechanical failure in the car,
0:30:52 > 0:30:54was it a temporary heart attack,
0:30:54 > 0:30:59was it, as some people say, that NC was sketching at the time?
0:30:59 > 0:31:01The only thing we really know
0:31:01 > 0:31:03is that we shall never know.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09We are coming to the location of my father's...
0:31:09 > 0:31:12where he was killed.
0:31:12 > 0:31:17And that brought it to a head to me because it...all this life that
0:31:17 > 0:31:21I had had by myself over here, I didn't really tell anyone about it.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25It all became the fact that he was killed here,
0:31:25 > 0:31:29it all became very pointed to me in it its meaning.
0:31:29 > 0:31:35Wasn't just because it was a handsome looking hill or a lovely old barn,
0:31:35 > 0:31:36that wasn't it at all.
0:31:36 > 0:31:42It was just...began...became sort of a memory of everything
0:31:42 > 0:31:44to me that meant something to me.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53It all made this whole place very poignant to me.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57Not just a farm but a certain truth.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01It gave me a reason to paint.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04Up to that point, I was painting but I think I was painting pictures
0:32:04 > 0:32:08and then there became a real reason, an urge to do something.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12Emotional reason.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14I think it made me.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22NC's accident was not the only tragedy Wyeth would associate
0:32:22 > 0:32:25with Kuerner's farm.
0:32:25 > 0:32:29When Karl Kuerner was diagnosed with cancer in the early 1970s,
0:32:29 > 0:32:32Wyeth charted his slow decline
0:32:32 > 0:32:35from warrior to wasted body,
0:32:35 > 0:32:39a shadow of his own father's death, always present.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46Something else had been happening at Kuerner's farm
0:32:46 > 0:32:50during the years Wyeth was charting Karl's fading health.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54It all started when Andrew met the woman brought in
0:32:54 > 0:32:56to care for the sick farmer.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02On hot summer afternoons, she took to resting in the upstairs
0:33:02 > 0:33:08attic, which Wyeth had begun to use as one of his temporary studios.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11She was Prussian - like the Kuerners, a German immigrant.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14She was married with children, in her mid thirties.
0:33:14 > 0:33:18Her name was Helga Testorf.
0:33:18 > 0:33:22Andrew started to paint her sleeping, waking, thinking, dressed
0:33:22 > 0:33:27and undressed, but for 15 years, he hid away every painting he produced,
0:33:27 > 0:33:30not just from the outside world but also from his wife
0:33:30 > 0:33:33and business partner, Betsy.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35Helga became the catalyst for one of the greatest
0:33:35 > 0:33:40scandals in American art history and one of its best kept secrets.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52He continued to paint his usual subjects
0:33:52 > 0:33:55and by producing a steady flow of work,
0:33:55 > 0:33:59Wyeth was able to paint Helga without arousing suspicion.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03But the concealment couldn't last.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09When the Helga paintings were first revealed, how did it happen,
0:34:09 > 0:34:12what was told to the public?
0:34:12 > 0:34:17They were revealed as the secret body of work, kept private even from
0:34:17 > 0:34:22his own family and especially his wife and therefore he must be
0:34:22 > 0:34:26hiding something beyond just the fact that he painted these nudes.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28That was, sort of,
0:34:28 > 0:34:30the subtext of almost everything
0:34:30 > 0:34:32that was written at the time,
0:34:32 > 0:34:35that he had betrayed his wife, Betsy, in some way.
0:34:38 > 0:34:42Betsy Wyeth had been the driving force behind an extremely
0:34:42 > 0:34:46successful business, producing reproductions of her
0:34:46 > 0:34:49husband's work for sale to the general public.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53But it was not popular with everyone.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00Most of the critics took pot shots based on reproductions
0:35:00 > 0:35:03they had seen or works that were in public collections,
0:35:03 > 0:35:04which weren't that many.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07I mean, aside from Christina's World at the Museum of Modern Art,
0:35:07 > 0:35:10there weren't that many hanging in museums around the country
0:35:10 > 0:35:12for a variety of reasons. Yeah.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15And I think for New York critics in particular, they were just
0:35:15 > 0:35:20dumbfounded by an artist who would paint farms and fishermen.
0:35:20 > 0:35:25I think that aspect of his work is part and parcel of what critics see
0:35:25 > 0:35:30as a sort of nostalgia of looking back at earlier periods of time.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32Frankly, Edward Hopper did the same thing.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34He wasn't a real fan of cities,
0:35:34 > 0:35:39he was kind of lamenting the loss of farms and rural life.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43And there is that heritage that is very deep-seated
0:35:43 > 0:35:47and embedded in the American psyche, I think, in some ways.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52However controversial Wyeth's output was amongst the critics,
0:35:52 > 0:35:57it didn't stop the 250 works that make up the Helga cycle being
0:35:57 > 0:36:00sold almost immediately.
0:36:00 > 0:36:01They went to a single collector,
0:36:01 > 0:36:05for what was reportedly around six million dollars.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09The national scandal had only helped push up the price.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12You know, Andy had his own reasons for what he did
0:36:12 > 0:36:14and I think part of it
0:36:14 > 0:36:19was in a nature of a surprise for the world but also for his wife.
0:36:19 > 0:36:25He wanted to prove, in his own way, that he was capable of this rather,
0:36:25 > 0:36:27in those days and in his mind,
0:36:27 > 0:36:30a body of work that was going to raise some eyebrows.
0:36:30 > 0:36:35He wanted to go deeper, he wanted to build on that early success
0:36:35 > 0:36:39but he was trying to get at certain aspects of the human
0:36:39 > 0:36:42condition that were, and ours, important to him.
0:36:42 > 0:36:47You know, change, life, death, sex, all of those things are
0:36:47 > 0:36:52kind of the themes that he explored throughout his work in various ways.
0:36:58 > 0:37:02In almost three decades since the scandal broke,
0:37:02 > 0:37:07Helga Testorf has rarely spoken about her experiences.
0:37:07 > 0:37:12Today, she's agreed to meet me and talk about her years with Wyeth.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21Hello, Helga. Hello there, sir. Michael. How are you, Michael?
0:37:21 > 0:37:23Michael Palin, very nice to meet you.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26Thank you so much for talking to us. You're very welcome.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28It's great to meet you.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30Can I ask you...? Just take you slightly back
0:37:30 > 0:37:33to the circumstances which led to him
0:37:33 > 0:37:36revealing the 15 years' worth of paintings he did of you.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41How did that come about? Did he tell you...?
0:37:41 > 0:37:43I don't have to tell you that.
0:37:43 > 0:37:44That is so obvious.
0:37:46 > 0:37:51It was expected of him to put out paintings like pancakes.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55And no real artist wants
0:37:55 > 0:38:00to be controlled of producing
0:38:00 > 0:38:03paintings that looked like postcards, one after another.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06So are you saying that he was going through a period
0:38:06 > 0:38:10when he was producing things that were sort of what, commercial?
0:38:10 > 0:38:12Sure, just like that.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16He needed to be painting for himself.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21And he knew that the paintings he had done with you were the truth.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25He didn't have to show them to anybody. He could learn.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28He needed to feed himself.
0:38:30 > 0:38:35Not always have some critic tell him, "Oh, this is good, this is not good."
0:38:35 > 0:38:39When he was a most peaceful man, why would he argue with them?
0:38:39 > 0:38:42They didn't know any better.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44He was the best critic there was.
0:38:44 > 0:38:49And together we critiqued, believe me. I learned a lot.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52And he listened to me too.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55It was so important what you did for him.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58Was that something, a relationship that worked straightaway? Yeah.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00Or was it something that developed?
0:39:00 > 0:39:05I always wanted to be a model or an artist or a movie star.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10It was childish dream because my mother always said,
0:39:10 > 0:39:12"You've got to have a profession first."
0:39:12 > 0:39:17So the fact that he wanted you to model for him...that must
0:39:17 > 0:39:21have been, for you, a wonderful sort of release, in a way.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24Yes, it was, yes, it was. I couldn't believe it.
0:39:24 > 0:39:28But, you know, when I do something it's not just 100%,
0:39:28 > 0:39:30it's all or nothing.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34Roughly how many hours a day would you be working?
0:39:34 > 0:39:37Oh, my God, at the beginning we did eight hours sometimes.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39Eight hours? It was long.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42He always said, "Are you tired yet?"
0:39:42 > 0:39:46I said, "No...keep on going."
0:39:46 > 0:39:51I guess, we both knew... whatever it takes.
0:39:51 > 0:39:55There's such a stillness in a lot of the paintings, was that hard to get?
0:39:55 > 0:39:58It's not just a question of lying on the bed and going to sleep.
0:39:58 > 0:40:03It was hard...you're sore. Cos you have to hold a certain position?
0:40:03 > 0:40:05Mmm.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07Very sore.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12When the paintings he'd made of you were revealed
0:40:12 > 0:40:15and the press got hold of it, I mean... Wasn't supposed to.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19Was it something you were prepared for? No! Of course not.
0:40:19 > 0:40:24Never! It wasn't supposed to be shown until after his death, he totally...
0:40:24 > 0:40:26Really?
0:40:26 > 0:40:31He totally... I think he was sort of caught in something...to come out.
0:40:33 > 0:40:34I don't know how it came out.
0:40:34 > 0:40:38Are you saying that he didn't want the paintings to be seen until...
0:40:38 > 0:40:41No. ..after his death? Mm-hm. Is that what you're saying?
0:40:41 > 0:40:43It was his promise to me.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47But Mother Nature had other plans.
0:40:50 > 0:40:54When the story of the Helga paintings broke in 1985,
0:40:54 > 0:40:58the American press bombarded Helga's family home,
0:40:58 > 0:41:02hounding her to speak out about a supposed affair with Andrew Wyeth.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06All hell broke loose, I think.
0:41:06 > 0:41:11All the paparazzis who were after us couldn't find me. Oh, I loved it!
0:41:11 > 0:41:14How did you get away? How did you get away from them?
0:41:14 > 0:41:15I'm not telling you that...that's me!
0:41:15 > 0:41:17Secret? That's me! Absolutely.
0:41:17 > 0:41:21There must have been people wagging tongues, saying that you
0:41:21 > 0:41:24were his mistress and, you know, it was a sexual relationship.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26They didn't know any better.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29They didn't know our language. We were not talking that way.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33We had better things to think about.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37"You just missed a sunrise," or, "You missed the lighting."
0:41:37 > 0:41:40"Did you see the beautiful moon last night?"
0:41:40 > 0:41:43Nature has all the answers.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49They couldn't follow us. It wasn't a sexual relationship?
0:41:49 > 0:41:52It has nothing to do with it.
0:41:52 > 0:41:57Whatever was personal, what's that got to do with the painting
0:41:57 > 0:42:02if you are sitting and trying to get a certain...
0:42:02 > 0:42:04tone, for instance?
0:42:04 > 0:42:07You know how many times you have to try?
0:42:07 > 0:42:10And do you know there is magic in the brush?
0:42:10 > 0:42:13You think he wanted anybody to watch them paint?
0:42:16 > 0:42:18I put it right on the line and that's about it.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22There were many people who knocked on our doors and, "Can I go
0:42:22 > 0:42:25"out painting with you?" or, "Can I watch you paint?"
0:42:25 > 0:42:27Certainly not.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31Any more than I would have you watch me making love.
0:42:33 > 0:42:34No!
0:42:37 > 0:42:43The nude is the most holy thing that you can get next to it -
0:42:43 > 0:42:46a divine spirit.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48The soul, he paints the soul.
0:42:58 > 0:43:03Wyeth's younger son, Jamie, now has his permanent home in Maine,
0:43:03 > 0:43:07on Southern Island, a short boat ride from Tennant's Harbor.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29Carrying on the family tradition, Jamie Wyeth, like his father Andrew
0:43:29 > 0:43:33and his grandfather NC, is a respected painter in his own right.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43'Whilst his painting has its own distinct style,
0:43:43 > 0:43:47'his father's work ethic has certainly rubbed off on him.'
0:43:47 > 0:43:49Fantastic!
0:43:49 > 0:43:54'Jamie is clearly a man who works hard at his art.'
0:43:56 > 0:43:58Good to see you again. Welcome to Southern Island.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02Thank you, thank you. Wrong way up.
0:44:02 > 0:44:04Thanks for sending the boat.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07That's the studio but I paint in the bathroom,
0:44:07 > 0:44:12I paint in the trees, I like not having a real studio.
0:44:12 > 0:44:16Just what takes your fancy on that particular day.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18Yes, exactly...absolutely.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27'Island life became a sanctuary for the family after
0:44:27 > 0:44:31'the furore of the Helga scandal.'
0:44:31 > 0:44:33What was the reaction from the family
0:44:33 > 0:44:37when the Helga paintings were revealed?
0:44:37 > 0:44:40Erm... Or rather, what was the effect on the family?
0:44:40 > 0:44:43Well, I mean, it's a remarkable body of work.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45I think the first reaction was,
0:44:45 > 0:44:49"My God!" I mean, he produced this huge amount of work
0:44:49 > 0:44:55and also produced all other things at the time and all kept secret.
0:44:55 > 0:44:59And was your mother's immediate reaction one of shock?
0:44:59 > 0:45:02Well, her first reaction was amazing that this body of work...
0:45:02 > 0:45:04and then obviously she felt,
0:45:04 > 0:45:08"How could he have done this without my knowledge?"
0:45:08 > 0:45:12I mean, she had been a real partner of he and his life and work.
0:45:12 > 0:45:18And of course, you couldn't get more diametric opposites than
0:45:18 > 0:45:21Betsy Wyeth and Helga Testorf.
0:45:21 > 0:45:22A little picture of both.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25It was really a perfect portrait of my father.
0:45:25 > 0:45:30I mean, he would go from his house with my mother and that house
0:45:30 > 0:45:34was devoid of flowers, devoid of any artifice and whatnot.
0:45:34 > 0:45:39It's just the paintings on the wall, very subtle and then he would travel
0:45:39 > 0:45:44to his studios, which was Helga's domain, which was complete chaos.
0:45:44 > 0:45:49Food stacked up, magazines, books, tunnels through.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52Really, the two sides of my father's personality.
0:45:52 > 0:45:53Yeah.
0:45:53 > 0:45:56And I don't think he really had a love affair with Helga,
0:45:56 > 0:45:57it wasn't any of that.
0:45:57 > 0:46:01It was just...he was obsessed with her fingernails, her elbow,
0:46:01 > 0:46:03her pubic hair, whatever!
0:46:03 > 0:46:11He was just obsessed with getting her on paper and paint.
0:46:11 > 0:46:13The relationship, then, between your mother and Helga,
0:46:13 > 0:46:17I imagine was a slightly awkward area? Yes.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20But I think, you know, to me, the Helga thing was
0:46:20 > 0:46:24a combination of his interest in Karl Kuerner, Germans,
0:46:24 > 0:46:27that part of Chadds Ford, where they lived, the whole...
0:46:27 > 0:46:31A lot of things rolled into that.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34And then the big secret, the fact that he was able to work on these
0:46:34 > 0:46:36things without people knowing about it.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42So why he ended up living on an island, why was that?
0:46:42 > 0:46:45Because my mother, his wife, chose to live on an island.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48She wanted to create this world and he didn't want it.
0:46:49 > 0:46:53So an island person he was not. Why did she like it?
0:46:54 > 0:46:55She loved the control.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58She loved the fact of being surrounded by water
0:46:58 > 0:47:01and she could control who was seen and what was going on and so forth.
0:47:01 > 0:47:05It fit right in to her modus operandi. OK.
0:47:07 > 0:47:10Cheers again. Good to see you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15Safe travels.
0:47:21 > 0:47:23It seems pretty clear to me
0:47:23 > 0:47:27that Andy was a free spirit who could never be tied down.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30After the Helga scandal was all over,
0:47:30 > 0:47:33he continued to see his muse, now no longer a secret.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42Helga was often by his side while he painted,
0:47:42 > 0:47:44both during his summers in Maine
0:47:44 > 0:47:47and when the summer was over back in Chadds Ford.
0:47:52 > 0:47:56Although Andrew had painted his home town for most of his life,
0:47:56 > 0:48:00he continued to find new subjects, even in his later years.
0:48:01 > 0:48:05In the 1990s, he transferred his attentions to local couple
0:48:05 > 0:48:07George and Helen Sipala.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10GENTLE SNORING
0:48:13 > 0:48:17He virtually took up residence in their home,
0:48:17 > 0:48:19becoming almost part of the furniture.
0:48:20 > 0:48:24He wanted to get as up close and personal as was humanly possible,
0:48:24 > 0:48:29recording in painting every detail of their daily routine.
0:48:29 > 0:48:31HE SNORES
0:48:35 > 0:48:38ALARM BEEPS
0:48:41 > 0:48:43HE GROANS
0:48:45 > 0:48:48'He knew where the key was, he knew how to get in
0:48:48 > 0:48:50'and he came when he wanted to.'
0:48:50 > 0:48:53So you didn't feel it was kind of like an intrusion?
0:48:53 > 0:48:55No. No.
0:48:55 > 0:48:59No, when he caught us in bed, that was a little embarrassing.
0:48:59 > 0:49:01Caught you in bed?
0:49:01 > 0:49:03He would come in maybe six o'clock
0:49:03 > 0:49:07and once he knew where the key was, he would sneak in.
0:49:07 > 0:49:11He loved to sneak in on us. He loved to tiptoe up the stairs.
0:49:11 > 0:49:15And he would go down the hall and the first few times he would
0:49:15 > 0:49:19stand by the bed and for some reason I would wake up and I would scream
0:49:19 > 0:49:21because he would be standing over me.
0:49:21 > 0:49:23And after a while we started catching on
0:49:23 > 0:49:28and we listened for the car and then we started playing jokes on him.
0:49:28 > 0:49:31He always expected us to be in the bed,
0:49:31 > 0:49:34which we stayed in but sometimes we put the wigs on ourselves...
0:49:34 > 0:49:37Yeah. ..mannequins inside on the pillow,
0:49:37 > 0:49:40like they were sleeping, and we would step into the next room
0:49:40 > 0:49:42and look through the cracks of the door.
0:49:42 > 0:49:48And watch him coming in on his... tiptoeing ever so lightly.
0:49:48 > 0:49:53Then he would go and pick up the bedspread and from the backroom,
0:49:53 > 0:49:56we'd be saying, "Gotcha! Gotcha!"
0:49:56 > 0:50:00We did terrible things to him. Terrible things. But he loved it.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03Doesn't sound very restful, your mornings. No.
0:50:03 > 0:50:07"What are we going to do today?" He met his match when he came here.
0:50:07 > 0:50:11For all those years he painted, I would have to call my boss and say,
0:50:11 > 0:50:13"I'll be a little late today."
0:50:13 > 0:50:17Andy had no concept of time, of my job.
0:50:17 > 0:50:22He would start painting and if I had to leave, he would get very upset.
0:50:22 > 0:50:25He was very possessive of his...
0:50:25 > 0:50:27He really was.
0:50:27 > 0:50:29It was a hideaway for him.
0:50:29 > 0:50:34When he wanted to get away from... Anybody.
0:50:35 > 0:50:40..the news people, visitors, company of any kind, this was a hideaway.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42His wife?
0:50:42 > 0:50:45I think everybody wants to get away from their wives once in a while.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47I'm not going to say anything!
0:50:47 > 0:50:51Everybody wants to get away from their husband once in a while, too.
0:50:51 > 0:50:53MUSIC: "Joy To The World" by Isaac Watts
0:50:59 > 0:51:02And he made a point of having Christmas with the Sipalas.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08In the last 20 years of his life,
0:51:08 > 0:51:11he spent virtually every Christmas Day with them.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16I said, "Andy, we're going to have you over for a Christmas party."
0:51:16 > 0:51:19He said, "I'm going to tell you now, Betsy won't come."
0:51:19 > 0:51:25So George wrote Betsy a letter and said, in effect,
0:51:25 > 0:51:29in the nicest of words, that "we will miss you
0:51:29 > 0:51:32"and you will be very comfortable here and blah-blah-blah".
0:51:32 > 0:51:35Down the line, the whole letter. And at the very end...
0:51:35 > 0:51:40I told her to get her ass over here! In those words!
0:51:40 > 0:51:42I understand that her secretary said,
0:51:42 > 0:51:46"How can anybody talk to you like that?" But she came! She came!
0:51:46 > 0:51:49She came! Yes, that got her. That got her.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51We went to the door and there she was.
0:51:51 > 0:51:56Hello! Welcome! Welcome to the Sipalas! Come on in!
0:51:56 > 0:51:59'When people gave him Christmas presents, it would be coats and boots
0:51:59 > 0:52:02and shoes and he would have to run right over to show us
0:52:02 > 0:52:04what he got, cos I would have to say, "Wait a minute, Andy.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07"I have to get a picture of this. I have to get a picture."
0:52:07 > 0:52:10And that's how we preserved this, or else he would never pose.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13It's like he's getting this portrait of a reclusive exhibitionist.
0:52:13 > 0:52:14That's right. That's right.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17His new outfit. You're right. Look what we have on!
0:52:17 > 0:52:21Sweaters... He looks like the King of Denmark, dropping in. He does!
0:52:23 > 0:52:28Christmas 2008 would be Andy's last with the Sipalas.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33He died just a few weeks later, at the ripe old age of 91.
0:52:38 > 0:52:42Helen Sipala sent her condolences to his widow, Betsy.
0:52:42 > 0:52:44"Dear Betsy and family.
0:52:44 > 0:52:48"We are thinking of you during this very difficult time.
0:52:48 > 0:52:50"We send our love, thoughts, prayers.
0:52:50 > 0:52:54"George and I have lost a dear and loyal friend in Andy.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57"20 years ago he entered our lives and never left.
0:52:57 > 0:53:01"So many memories, so much joy and a real honour to know him.
0:53:01 > 0:53:04"We will miss him dearly, especially at Christmas.
0:53:04 > 0:53:06"This past Christmas "he stopped in during the morning
0:53:06 > 0:53:10"and had his last cup of tea with us. It was touching. Love, Helen."
0:53:13 > 0:53:15So... Then he was gone.
0:53:33 > 0:53:37The morning after Wyeth's death, Betsy turned to the family
0:53:37 > 0:53:40that had made her husband famous all those years earlier.
0:53:49 > 0:53:54Out of the blue John Olson, nephew of Andrew's muse Christina,
0:53:54 > 0:53:57received a call enquiring about the family graveyard.
0:53:59 > 0:54:03'The morning he died, Betsy called me'
0:54:03 > 0:54:06and she said, "I want you to know that Andy has passed away
0:54:06 > 0:54:08"and you are the first to know it."
0:54:08 > 0:54:11Were you surprised that he wanted to be buried
0:54:11 > 0:54:15alongside Christina in the family plot? Yes, I was.
0:54:15 > 0:54:19She said, "Well," she said,
0:54:19 > 0:54:24"She made us famous so I feel we ought to be buried there."
0:54:24 > 0:54:26So I went ahead with it.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28The grave-digger came down to the house,
0:54:28 > 0:54:31knocked on the door and he said,
0:54:31 > 0:54:33"Where are you putting Andy?"
0:54:33 > 0:54:36I said, "What do you mean, where am I putting Andy?"
0:54:36 > 0:54:41He said, "I guess you're the one that's got to pick out his grave."
0:54:41 > 0:54:44So I had to go up to the cemetery...
0:54:45 > 0:54:48..and find a spot where to bury him.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51Was that a difficult thing to choose?
0:54:51 > 0:54:52Well, I walked around and I said,
0:54:52 > 0:54:55"What do you do with a famous man?" Yeah.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00I mean, I'm not a famous person by no means.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03I'm just a common, everyday person around here.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07So I picked out the spot where he is buried.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12OK. So now it's ready. Baited up.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16Wow! Heavy stuff. Just watch it.
0:55:16 > 0:55:20Wow! Yeah, yeah, yeah. OK. Here we go. OK.
0:55:26 > 0:55:28God bless her and all that go down with her.
0:55:38 > 0:55:43And here we have Anna Christina's grave and her brother, Alvaro. Yeah.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47And Christina's parents. It is a modest little cemetery, isn't it?
0:55:47 > 0:55:50It is. It's just a few families. Yeah.
0:55:53 > 0:55:58And here we have Andrew Wyeth's grave. Yeah. That's Andrew's.
0:55:58 > 0:56:02This is the newest grave in the cemetery. A simple stone.
0:56:02 > 0:56:04Very simple. Just name and date.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08No other information. Hmm.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12Yeah. The most recent grave. The most recent grave.
0:56:18 > 0:56:22ANDREW: There is almost nothing here which I like.
0:56:24 > 0:56:29I think I'm more attracted, as I get older, by nothing.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31Vacancy.
0:56:31 > 0:56:35Light on the side of the wall or light on snowdrifts
0:56:35 > 0:56:37and their shadows across them.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43Makes me go back more into my...
0:56:44 > 0:56:46..soul, I guess.
0:56:46 > 0:56:50But you have to say that for the right moment,
0:56:50 > 0:56:53it is like building up your urge for sex.
0:56:53 > 0:56:58If you let it peter out all the time, it's no good
0:56:58 > 0:57:01but if you build it up for the right moment, it's terrific.
0:57:01 > 0:57:03And I find that's true with painting.
0:57:03 > 0:57:07I mean, you could be going along, I can be going along and think,
0:57:07 > 0:57:08"This is all vacant."
0:57:08 > 0:57:13And then I'll see a piece of barbed wire against the snow,
0:57:13 > 0:57:18rusted barbed wire with maybe a piece
0:57:18 > 0:57:20of a horse's mane caught in it.
0:57:23 > 0:57:27And that rusty barbed wire and that horse's mane, hair...
0:57:28 > 0:57:32..it can just go to you and get you going.
0:57:37 > 0:57:40After a life dedicated to art,
0:57:40 > 0:57:43it seems right that Andrew Wyeth's final resting place
0:57:43 > 0:57:47is almost at the spot where he painted Christina
0:57:47 > 0:57:49in front of her family home.
0:57:50 > 0:57:54It seemed a gesture typical of the man that even in death
0:57:54 > 0:57:57he wanted to be with the people whose ordinary lives
0:57:57 > 0:58:00and hard struggles he depicted for so long.
0:58:00 > 0:58:03The more I've learned about Andrew Wyeth,
0:58:03 > 0:58:05the more intriguing I find him -
0:58:05 > 0:58:09a brilliant technician and a man of mischief, a playful prankster,
0:58:09 > 0:58:11disciplined enough to paint on almost every single
0:58:11 > 0:58:14day of his working life.
0:58:14 > 0:58:17An artist who created a unique world, Wyeth's world,
0:58:17 > 0:58:22by capturing time and time again the universal in his own back yard.