N. C. Wyeth - by David Michaelis (Paperback)

About the Book

Wyeth's illustrations for "Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Last of the Mohicans, The Yearling, " and many other books are etched into the collective memory of generations of readers. Michaelis tells the story of Wyeth's family through four generations. The artist himself is brought alive in this fully realized portrait of this huge-spirited, deeply complicated man.

From the Back Cover

His name summons up our earliest images of the beloved books we read as children. His illustrations for Scribner's Illustrated Classics (Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Last of the Mohicans, The Yearling) are etched into the collective memory of generations of readers. He was hailed as the greatest American illustrator of his day. For forty-three years, starting in 1902, N.C. Wyeth painted landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and murals, as well as illustrations for a long shelf of world literature. Yet despite worldwide acclaim, he judged himself a failure, believing that illustration was of no importance.

David Michaelis tells the story of Wyeth's family through four generations -- a saga that begins and ends with tragedy -- and brings to life the huge-spirited, deeply complicated man, and an America that was quickly vanishing.

Review Quotes

"David Michaelis's biography of American illustrator N. C. Wyeth is an epic portrait of a towering talent....this biography is a rip-roaring read." - USA Today

"A superb, important, and eminently readable resource in the fields of American history, culture, art, and biography." - Journal of American History