Betsy Wyeth

Betsy Merle James was born on 26 September 1921 in East Aurora, New York. She was the youngest of three daughters born to Elizabeth Browning, a graduate of Cornell and teacher of Latin, and Merle Davis James, an artist and printer. She attended Colby Junior College, before transferring to the University of Chicago, where she studied archaeology. In 1939, aged 17, she met 22 year old Andrew Wyeth. They became engaged within a week of meeting, and married on 15 May 1940. They settled in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The couple had two sons, Nicholas and Jamie. == Artistic collaboration ==

Prior to their marriage, Betsy introduced Andrew Wyeth to the Olsons, a brother and sister. Their son, Jamie, later said "I always felt her signature should be alongside his." An artist like his son, the book helped to catalyze a reassessment of his career. The Wyeths were significant benefactors in art and education. In 1968, they founded the Wyeth Endowment for American Art (later the Wyeth Foundation for American Art). Following Andrew Wyeth's death in 2009, Betsy Wyeth gifted his studio to the Brandywine River Museum of Art. == Preservation efforts ==

Betsy Wyeth was a defender and restorer of the Brandywine region's vernacular architecture. Wyeth also restored the old mill complex on the Brandywine River which became the couple's home and studio. Betsy Wyeth was a founding member of the Chadds Ford Historical Society, and a driving force in the creation of Island Journal. In 1987, she founded Up East Incorporated, to support environmental research, preservation, and education in Maine. == Death and legacy ==

Betsy Wyeth died aged 98 on 21 April 2020 at her home in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Between 2020 and 2021, the Brandywine Museum of Art paid tribute to Betsy Wyeth's legacy with a display of 20 drawings and paintings of and about her. In 2022, The Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, Maine staged an exhibition titled ''Betsy's Gift.'' Since its formation in 2002, the Foundation has provided more than $10 million in financial support for art and artists. == Bibliography ==