Unconquered

10 Responses to Unconquered

1. dale says:

   January 16, 2009 at 11:48 pm

   (o)
2. marja-leena says:

   January 17, 2009 at 12:32 am

   Wyeth sure lived to be a ripe age. He’s from your state, isn’t he?
   I recognize that man!
3. Dave says:

   January 17, 2009 at 9:37 am

   Yup, southeastern PA. Pretty typically Pennsylvanian in his politics and outlook, too, though most people associated him with the dour New England of so many of his subjects.

   Tom makes a good stand-in for a bearded conquistador, don’t you think? :)
4. leslee says:

   January 17, 2009 at 10:04 am

   :-)
5. Dick says:

   January 17, 2009 at 10:20 am

   Bafflingly, his passing has gone largely unreported here. UK cultural imperialism.
6. Peg says:

   January 17, 2009 at 12:16 pm

   Dave, I wasn’t quite sure what you meant by “pretty typically Pennsylvanian in his politics and outlook,” but it stimulated my curiosity and I looked up Chester County, his home and my backyard, on Wikipedia. I found, among “Other Elected Officials” for that area, the following: Sire Rickenback, Haunter of Trails; Lady Halibut, Pearl Necklace Loving Chest; and Bunny Welsh, Sheriff. Yup. Idiosyncrasy rules.
7. Lorianne says:

   January 17, 2009 at 2:20 pm

   I immediately thought of this image when I heard of Wyeth’s passing; thanks for sharing it.
8. Dave says:

   January 17, 2009 at 11:04 pm

   Dick – Well, it might have something to do with his contested status too, perhaps. He was entirely too popular with the hoi polloi for some critics.

   Peg – Ha! Yes, what I meant by that was “anti-establishment in a cranky and/or conservative manner,” I guess. Our weird German – redneck heritage, part neatness and order, part Whiskey Rebellion.

   Lorianne – Really? Well, glad to oblige, then!
9. Peter says:

   January 18, 2009 at 2:06 am

   I always thought she was relearning something essential. So much more hands than anything else.
10. Dave says:

    January 18, 2009 at 9:09 am

    Yes, and Wyeth’s hyper-realism and the title of the painting are keys to its power over our imaginations, I think. Christina’s world is one in which every blade of grass is painstakingly given its due.