Andrew Wyeth

Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania

Private Collection, Malvern, Pennsylvania (acquired in 1986)

Private Collection, Shibuya, Tokyo (acquired in 1989)

Pacific Sun Trading Company, Wellesley, Massachusetts (acquired in December of 2005)

Acquired from the above in 2013 by the present owner

Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Los Angeles County Museum of Art (and traveling), Andrew Wyeth: The Helga Pictures, May 1987 - December 1990

New York, Adelson Galleries, Andrew Wyeth: Helga on Paper, November - December 2006, no. 61, p. 93, illustrated

Beijing, YUAN Space and Hong Kong Exhibition Center, Andrew Wyeth in China, April - May 2012

In a few expert marks, With Nell captures Andrew Wyeth’s longtime muse, Helga Testorf, and Nell, the Wyeth family dog. The two rest in bed, their forms shaped by the suggestion of sheets. Helga’s hair and face are shaded with gently blended hatching, indicating Wyeth’s delicate technique and the tenderness of the moment. Though Wyeth produced several similar sketches of the pose, the present version of With Nell is among the most complete.

Over a period of 15 years, Wyeth created over 240 images of Helga in tempera, drybrush, watercolor, and pencil. The “Helga Pictures” were widely publicized upon their 1987 exhibition at the National Gallery of Art, and the body of work, including With Nell, traveled extensively throughout the United States and Japan to significant critical interest. The sketch was most recently exhibited in China before its acquisition by Pacific Sun Trading Company and subsequent purchase by the present owner in 2013.