Flood Plain (painting)

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Flood Plain
ArtistAndrew Wyeth
Year1986
TypeTempera on panel
Dimensions62.2 cm × 121.9 cm (24 12 in × 48 in)
LocationPrivate collection

Flood Plain is a 1986 painting by the American artist Andrew Wyeth. It depicts a part of the artist's family's land in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania in the winter, with patches of ice in the grass. In the foreground is a pile of hay with the remnants of an old hay wagon. Two icy wheel tracks lead to a mill and a granary in the background.

Creation[edit]

In his 1995 autobiography, Wyeth said about this painting that he "wanted to capture the clean-swept character of the beginning of the winter after the floods".[1]

Provenance[edit]

The painting was acquired by the art dealer Frank E. Fowler and sold to the actor Charlton Heston in 1988.[2] Heston was a friend and promoter of Wyeth and owned several of his paintings. In 1991 he received Wyeth's study for Flood Plain as a Christmas gift from the artist.[3]

The painting was sold through Sotheby's in 2015 for $5,178,000. The estimated value at the auction was $2,000,000—3,000,000.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Wyeth, Andrew; Hoving, Thomas (1995). Andrew Wyeth: Autobiography. Kansas City, Missouri: Bulfinch Press. p. 140. ISBN 9780821221594.
  2. ^ a b "Andrew Wyeth B.1917-2009: Flood Plain". Sotheby's. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  3. ^ Ilnytzky, Ula (2015-09-24). "Wyeth paintings owned by Charlton Heston to be auctioned". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2016-11-01.

Further reading[edit]