Art Analysis: Andrew Wyeth's "Winter 1946"

In the painting “Winter 1946” the artist Andrew Wyeth uses a realist style of painting, by creating sprawling landscapes and figures. Also, the color choices are intended to give the viewer a sense of depression and tension. His realist paintings are in sharp contrast of the popular abstract movement of the time, mainly because he wants his paintings to draw a more literal meaning. The grief on the boy’s face in “Winter 1946” is very obvious. His paintings are meant to show the “bones” of nature; he felt that there was more than meets the eye in nature, and he painted in a way to uncover that hidden meaning. In Andrew Wyeth’s “Winter 1946”, he is conveying grief and death through sepia tones and an open landscape with a realist style that is contrary to the abstract movement at the time, although a few abstract elements are used in this painting.

Wyeth’s use of sepia tones in “Winter 1946” convey a very somber and depressing atmosphere. The overall grayness and monochromaticity in the painting is a major part of the meaning behind it. Almost all of his paintings use this color palette. His paintings have a lot of tonalistic elements to them, mainly because of his use of sprawling landscapes. Tonalism, however, is used for brighter and more beautiful depictions of landscapes, while Wyeth uses them to convey feelings of isolation and sadness. Wyeth is a realist painter, and it shows in this painting. In “Winter 1946”, the landscape is used to show how the boy is moving and changing quickly, because he is running downhill. The hill in the background symbolizes death and the boy is quickly trying to flee from it. The boys face has an expression of tension and sadness. The position of his body is also indicative of him fleeing or running, shown by the swinging arms. However, Wyeth incorporates abstract elements into his paintings as well.

An abstract painting is one that uses no figuration, and instead relies on shapes and colors for interpretation. A famous example of this style is this untitled composition shown above by artist Wassily Kandinsky. The painting has very bright colors, which gives a happy and energetic feeling. There are only basic shapes in the painting, and it takes interpretation to figure out what they are. Some trees can be vaguely seen, as well as what looks like a road moving through a mountain. These are vague yet recognizable shapes that can be used to represent what an artist wants to convey, without drawing it literally. This article clearly explains what abstract paintings look like, and what to look for in them. It explains how different colors have been used to express different emotions, specifically in the case of another Kandinsky painting. Colors can be moods, feelings, or even represent parts of a musical instrument. Observing a piece of abstract art This method of evaluation can be applied to Wyeth’s “Winter 1946”, because of the abstract elements that he incorporated.

In “Winter 1946”, there are many abstract elements in the painting. Notably, the color scheme gives a very broad sense of grief. The painting shown above has the same use of washed out colors. The grey and yellow sepia tones of the hill and the pale sky suggest a tragedy has occurred. The whole color scheme suggests no happy feelings or emotions at all. The shadow that the boy makes on the ground makes a statement about his internal well-being; He looks like a normal boy, but the shadow has a very distorted look, suggesting that he is weak and fragile because of the tragedy that occurred to him. We would have no way of knowing what the shape on the ground was if we did not have the context of the boy, so it must be left to interpretation.

The fact that Wyeth painted many realist paintings in a time when the abstract movement was happening in the art world is very important. World War II had just started, and many artists relied on the abstract theme to convey their message; through focus on colors and shapes rather than figuration. Wyeth, however, chose to convey his message in a different, yet somewhat related, way. This article shows how Wyeth was a stylistic contrarian of his time, yet his paintings had similar elements to the abstract style. The article demonstrates the changing styles throughout history and which styles were popular at which times. Realism was popular in the late 1880s into the early 1900s. In the mid 1900s, during and after World War II, a movement started in the art community called the Abstract Impressionist Movement. Many popular artists of the time were shaken by the war and turned to abstract art. Figuration was largely discarded as a popular art form, except for Andrew Wyeth. He gained commercial success for the realist style that directly opposed the popular style of the time. Many artist, even now, hate him because of the fact he was popular at the time, while others see call him one of the best realist painters that ever lived. The difference of opinions on Wyeth is broad. Although, it is very easy to see that he painted in a time where abstract art dominated, because of the abstract elements in his paintings.

In one of his most famous works, “Christina’s World”, he uses figuration of the women in the field, but it feels like more than that. If the painting is taken at face value, it is just a girl laying in a field looking at presumably her home. But, upon closer inspection, the shape of her body and the surrounding colors tell a different story. Her body is contorted in an uncomfortable position and the colors in the painting are very subdued and almost washed out. The sky is pale and the ground has a very monochromatic look to it. The open spaces between her and buildings, and even the spaces between the buildings themselves give a broad sense of distance and isolation. A longer viewing of the painting reveals more sadness and grief. This is exactly what abstract art does; uses colors and shapes to portray emotions rather than figuration.

Andrew Wyeth’s “Winter 1946” has a very dynamic range of styles used in it. It is primarily a realist painting, because of all of the figuration used, but it also adopts other styles as well. The abstract elements in the painting really come through, and make a statement where realism cannot. The abstract elements are very indicative of the time; Wyeth painted in the realist style during a time where abstract artist reigned supreme. This allowed him to incorporate abstract elements into his work. He is considered a contrarian artist of his time, who is simultaneously considered the best and worst painter of the mid 1900s.

Works Cited

"Comparison of Abstract vs. Figurative Art." The ArtStory. N.p., 2014. Web. 15 Apr. 2015. <http://www.theartstory.org/definition-abstract-vs-figurative-art.htm>.


Knapp, MaryFrances. "The Grief Beneath: Reflections Andrew Wyeth." SevenPonds Blog. N.p., 31 Aug. 2014. Web. 15 Apr. 2015. <http://blog.sevenponds.com/soulful-expressions/the-grief-beneath-reflections-andrew-wyeth>.


Gersh-Nesic, Beth. "What Is Abstract Art?" About Education. N.p., 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2015. <http://arthistory.about.com/od/glossary_a/a/a_abstract_art.htm>.


Schapiro, Meyer. Nature of Abstract Art. New York: American Marxist Association, 1937. Print.