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By Katrina Margolis
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Many modern Needhamites probably think that the only important person to come out of our suburban Boston town is Aly Raisman. While the gymnast is certainly impressive, there is a former star whose fame at the time eclipsed even that of an Olympic athlete. N.C. Wyeth was born in Needham in 1882, and over the course of his lifetime, became one of the most widely known household names in the country. While he moved to Pennsylvania at the age of 20, he looked back on Needham for inspiration and material his entire life.
Gloria Greis, Executive Director of the Needham Historical Society, gave an illuminating presentation on Wyeth’s life in relation to Needham. While there are several comprehensive biographies of the artist, Greis made sure to focus on the link he had with the town. Her talk, titled “Patriots and Pirates: N.C. Wyeth and Needham” was part of a week of Wyeth, including a paint night at the Historical Society where locals were led in painting one of Wyeth’s own watercolors and culminating in a vendors’ market held in the schoolhouse.
The house where Wyeth grew up still stands in Needham on South Street, and is today called the Joshua Lewis house. While his mother was thrilled by the talents he exhibited, his father was absolutely appalled – he wanted him to become a farmer, which was a practical profession. Despite his father’s reservations, he pursued art. While Wyeth was young, an innovation in artistic reproduction appeared, which allowed reproductions to be true to the original work of art. This led to a boom in work for magazine and book illustrators.
In 1902, Wyeth left Needham to study in Delaware with Howard Pyle, whose students were collectively known as the Brandywine School. Pyle was himself an illustrator, and Wyeth followed in his footsteps. His work appeared in The Saturday Evening Post and on the covers of numerous Scribner’s classics. He also produced advertisements for clients such as Lucky Strike and Coca-Cola.
Even while Wyeth was located elsewhere, he drew on landscapes from his home in his illustrations. The house that he grew up in is noticeably present in a number of illustrations, such as “Paul Revere’s Ride.” His illustrating style was very different than his painting style, and for much of his painting, he leaned towards a more impressionistic style. He drew on memories from his youth for much of his work. “Christmas Morning,” a work housed within the Needham Historical Society, depicts Wyeth’s grandfather and younger brother outside of his childhood home in the winter. At the time of the painting, his grandfather had passed away some years before; clearly, this was an image depicted from memory.
Much of Wyeth’s work is maintained within private collections, however, there are a few housed at the Needham Library, as well as a few in the Historical Society. Wyeth’s young brother, Stimson, stayed in Needham his entire life, and bequeathed some of the paintings to the town at his death. Greis ended her presentation with a poignant sentiment encompassing Wyeth’s entire life and career: “Wyeth left Needham in 1902, but for better or for worse, you could say he was never far away.”
