“Christina’s World” painter Andrew Wyeth passes away at 91

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Philadelphia-based Wyeth was famous for painting depictions of nature; no word on cause of death

According to MSNBC, world-renowned painter Andrew Wyeth, who was famous for his portraits of people and landscapes around Pennsylvania’s Brandywine Valley and coastal Maine, passed away in his Philadelphia home at the age of 91.

The director of the Brandywine River Museum, known as an intimate space housing the collection of works by the Wyeth Family, Jim Duff, said that Wyeth died in his sleep.

Duff was quoted by Yahoo News as saying that Andrew Wyeth was “a man of extraordinary perception, and that perception was found in his thousands of images — many, many of them iconic. He highly valued the natural world, the historical objects of this world as they exist in the present and strong-willed people.”

Indeed, many of Wyeth’s work, including paintings like “Christina’s World”, which depicted a disabled woman looking up a grassy rise toward her farm home. The painting was celebrated for its minimalist, but detailed, portrayal of nature.

The painting has been referenced in comics like “Peanuts,” and in TV shows like “The Simpsons” and “Mystery Science Theater 3000.”

Additionally, Wyeth was known for the “Helga” paintings, an intimate series of nude portraits that resulted in international acclaim in 1986. Wyeth’s fortune and respect continued up until his death, with a 2006 retrospective on his work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2006 drawing more than 175,000 visitors in over three months.

It was the highest-ever attendance at the museum for a living artist.

For more about Wyeth’s life, read The New York Times obituary about him here.