The Carry, 2003 tempera on panel
History of the Wyeth Foundation for American Art
The Wyeth Foundation for American Art was formed as a Delaware non-profit corporation in 2002 as a result of the foresight and generosity of Andrew N. Wyeth and Betsy James Wyeth. The Foundation, based in Wilmington, Delaware, applied for and was granted tax exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service as an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code on January 10, 2003.
Since that time the Foundation has provided over $13,000,000 in financial support for major fellowship programs, educational initiatives, scholarly gatherings and lectures, exhibitions, publications, and conservation and preservation efforts related to the field of American art.
In Memoriam: John Currie Wilmerding Jr. (April 28, 1938 – June 6, 2024)
The Board of the Foundation notes with sadness the recent death of John Wilmerding, who died in New York on June 6, 2024. With fondness and respect, we remember John's many years of service as a Board member and officer of the Wyeth Foundation for American Art.
A long-time friend of the Wyeth family, John brought his experience as a historian, collector, and museum curator to advise Andrew and Betsy Wyeth on the early direction of the Foundation's predecessor organization in the 1970's and then to spur its revitalization in 2002. His early scholarship on marine painting expanded to include the work of Winslow Homer, the "Luminist" trend in American landscape painting (seen in the work of F. H. Lane and M. J. Heade), and the trompe l'oeil tradition in still life art (particularly in the work of Peto and Harnett), providing a base of shared taste with the Wyeths that was only enhanced by his deep love for the artists and landscapes of Maine.
A revered teacher at Dartmouth College and Princeton University, John joined the staff at the National Gallery of Art in 1977, where he served as curator and then deputy director, curating the sensational exhibition of Wyeth's "Helga Paintings" in 1986. John's dedication to the National Gallery, capped by his service as President of the Board of Trustees and the gift of his private collection to the Gallery in 2004, inspired his support for various WFAA initiatives there, such as the prestigious Wyeth Fellowship at CASVA and the Wyeth lecture and symposium program that has firmly established American art research and teaching at the NGA. We will miss John's sage wisdom and ever present good humor. In his honor, the Foundation recently provided a grant to assist in the establishment of the John Wilmerding directorship at the Shelburne Museum, an institution that shaped his childhood and remained dear to his heart.