Andrew Wyeth

Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection, Benner Island, Maine

Pacific Sun Trading Company, Wellesley, Massachusetts (acquired in April of 2007)

Acquired from the above in 2013 by the present owner

Day Dream Study is preparatory sketch for Day Dream, 1980, a tempera masterwork from Andrew Wyeth’s “Helga” series. The painting, which set the artist’s auction record at $23M last year, features Helga Testorf draped in a mesh net, rendered in subtle reds and beiges. Two open windows, a favored motif of the artist, bathe the scene with warm light. Wyeth would spend several years working out the composition and lighting for the piece, with Day Dream Study being one of his final explorations of pose.

In the sketch, Wyeth loosely drafted two torsos before switching to a more balanced, front-facing posture with stronger forward weight. In Day Dream, Wyeth maintained this pose and moved both of Helga’s hands into view. The sketch offers a unique insight into Wyeth’s artistic approach, his thought process evident as he worked to solidify Helga’s posture.