Andrew Wyeth 1917-2009

Leonard E.B. Andrews, Malvern, Pennsylvania, 1986 (acquired from the artist)
Private Collection, Japan, 1989 (acquired from the above)
Acquired by the present owner, 2006

Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art; Boston, Massachusetts, Museum of Fine Arts; Houston, Texas, Museum of Fine Arts; Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles Museum of Art; San Francisco, California, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; Detroit, Michigan, Detroit Institute of Arts; Brooklyn, New York, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Andrew Wyeth: The Helga Pictures, May 1987-September 1989, pp.19, 27-28, 194, illustrated pl. 16, p. 43 (also traveled to eight venues in Japan)
Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, Brandywine River Museum; Portland, Maine, Portland Museum of Art, The Helga Pictures: Then and Now, September 1992-October 1993
West Palm Beach, Florida, Norton Museum of Art; San Diego, California, San Diego Museum of Art; Portland, Oregon, Portland Art Museum; New Orleans, Louisiana, New Orleans Museum of Art, Andrew Wyeth-The Helga Pictures, January 1996-January 1997, pp. 4-6, illustrated
Louisville, Kentucky, J.B. Speed Art Museum, Wyeth-Three Generations, June-August 1998
Omaha, Nebraska, Joslyn Art Museum; Nashville, Tennessee, Cheekwood Art Museum, Andrew Wyeth's Helga Pictures: An Intimate Study, May 2002-January 2003 
Lafayette, Louisiana, Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette; Canton, Ohio, Canton Museum of Art; Charlotte, North Carolina, Mint Museum of Art, Andrew Wyeth: The Helga Pictures, April 2004-January 2005, no. 8, illustrated (circulated by International Arts & Artists)
Naples, Florida, Naples Museum of Art, Andrew Wyeth & Family: N.C., Andrew & Jamie, January-May 2006
Kalamazoo, Michigan, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, The Wyeths: America's Artists, January-April 2011

"Andrew Wyeth's Helga Pictures on Exhibition at the Norton," Focus, January 1996, illustrated p. 78 
Katie Scarvey, "See Helga series before it leaves the Mint," Salisbury Post, December 2004, illustrated
Nancy Moore, "Mint Museum of Art to play host to 'Helga' exhibit, The Gaston Gazette, October 10, 2004, p. 6e, illustrated
Richard Maschal, "The Secret Model," The Charlotte Observer, October 10, 2004, p. 1H, illustrated p. 8H

Beginning in 1971, Andrew Wyeth produced over 240 images in tempera, drybrush, watercolor and pencil depicting a single woman – Helga Testorf. This collection of works, known as “The Helga Pictures,” remained hidden from the world, and even Wyeth’s wife Betsy, until it was purchased in almost its entirety by Philadelphia publisher Leonard E.B. Andrews in 1986. Andrews’ intention was to preserve the collection for the public’s enjoyment, and shortly after his purchase, the works embarked on a two year traveling exhibition curated by John Wilmerding of the National Gallery of Art.

Wyeth was first introduced to Helga by their mutual neighbor Karl Kuerner, whose family and farm in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania had served as subjects of the artist’s work for years, and was immediately captivated by her. Wyeth “depicted [Helga] nude and clothed, indoors and out, asleep and awake, in different seasons and times of day," documenting her physical and emotional evolution over a fifteen year period" (John Wilmerding, Andrew Wyeth: The Helga Pictures, New York, 1987, p. 11). Wyeth’s watercolors from the series were particularly influenced by Winslow Homer’s works of the late 1870s, many of which depict a lone, contemplative female figure standing in fields or woodlands.