 Jamie Wyeth, Greed (Seven Deadly Sins), 2008, Combined mediums on hand-wove, toned paper mounted on archival board, 34.5" x 24.5" | | Jamie Wyeth: Seven Deadly Sins is a rare example of a contemporary artist taking on a topic long associated with the history of Christian art. This critically-acclaimed artist and member of "the first family of American art," focuses on human frailty - pride, envy, anger, greed, sloth, gluttony and lust - codified as the "seven deadly sins" in the writings of the late 13th century Dominican, Saint Thomas Aquinas. Dante's famed Divine Comedy addresses the theme, as does Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. One of the most famous paintings of the subject was by the sixteenth century Dutch painter, Hieronymous Bosch. However, it was American artist Paul Cadmus' series that inspired Wyeth to take his own distinctive approach. In his work, the sins are acted out by seagulls, which he has observed for decades along the coast of Maine. In the word of the artist, "Gulls are nasty birds, filled with their own jealous and rivalries..."
Seven Deadly Sins has never before been exhibited outside of Wyeth's home region and will only be in Utah for a limited time.
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Jamie Wyeth
Jamie Wyeth: Seven Deadly Sins has been organized by the Farnsworth Art Museum with cooperation of the Brandywine River Museum, and is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue. It is funded in part by generous gifts from Mrs. Douglas Auchincloss; the Michael and Elizabeth Dingman Foundation and Adelson Galleries, New York. The Salt Lake Art Center's presentation of this exhibition is made possible in part through generous support from the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation and Alternative Visions.
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