Wyeth frequently painted acquaintances and friends who lived near his studios in Pennsylvania and Maine. Here, the artist portrayed his neighbor sitting in a shadowy space and leaning forward to catch the light shining through an unseen window. Working from close observation, Wyeth made numerous sketches of the scene before rendering it in a muted palette. The subdued coloration, sparse setting, stiff pose of the aged figure, and dim shadow evoke a sense of destitution or alienation, while the ray of light suggests to a more hopeful outcome. The evocative title of the work adds to its mystery: some have identified the man as the titular crow, with his rigid, talon-like hands and hunched posture.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "20th Century Painters: A Special Exhibition of Oils, Water Colors and Drawings Selected from the Collections of American Art in the Metropolitan Museum," June 16–October 29, 1950, unnum. brochure (p. 13).
Utica, N. Y. Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. "Contemporary American Realists," April 29–May 20, 1951, no catalogue.
Manchester, N.H. Currier Gallery of Art. "Paintings and Drawings by Andrew Wyeth," July 7–August 4, 1951.
Rockland, Me. William A. Farnsworth Library and Art Museum. "Paintings and Drawings by Andrew Wyeth," August 10–September 8, 1951.
New York. Wildenstein. "Loan Exhibition of Seventy XX Century American Paintings," February 21–March 22, 1952, no. 70.
Hempstead, N. Y. Hofstra College. "Metropolitan Museum Masterpieces," June 26–September 1, 1952, brochure no. 56.
Montclair, N.J. Montclair Art Museum. "Artist Families," February 8–March 1, 1953, no catalogue.
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. "Six Centuries of Headdress," April 3–May 1, 1955, no. 59.
Ogunquit Museum of American Art. "3rd Annual Exhibition," July 1–September 11, 1955.
Birmingham, Ala. Birmingham Museum of Art. "The Philadelphia Tradition," December 1–29, 1957.
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. "Famous Paintings and Famous Painters," October 4–November 2, 1958, no. 16.
Washington, D. C. Corcoran Gallery of Art. "The American Muse: Parallel Trends in Literature and Art," April 4–May 17, 1959, no. 95.
Cambridge, Mass. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Charles Hayden Memorial Library. "Andrew Wyeth: A Retrospective of Temperas and Watercolors," November 7–December 5, 1960.
Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Albright-Knox Art Gallery. "Andrew Wyeth: Temperas, Water Colors, and Drawings," November 2–December 9, 1962, no. 12.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Three Centuries of American Painting," April 9–October 17, 1965, unnum. checklist.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "American Paintings, Drawings and Watercolors from the Museum's Collections," October 1–December 7, 1969, no catalogue.
Osaka. Japan World Exposition. United States Pavilion. "Images of America: American Painting," March 15–September 13, 1970, not in catalogue.
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. "Great American Paintings from the Boston and Metropolitan Museums," November 30, 1970–January 10, 1971, no. 90.
Saint Louis, Mo. City Art Museum. "Great American Paintings from the Boston and Metropolitan Museums," January 28–March 7, 1971, no. 90.
Seattle Art Museum. "Great American Paintings from the Boston and Metropolitan Museums," March 25–May 9, 1971, no. 90.
National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. "Works of Andrew Wyeth," April 6–May 19, 1974, no. 6.
National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto. "Works of Andrew Wyeth," May 25–June 30, 1974, no. 6.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Tribute to a Curator: Robert Beverly Hale," November 16, 1978–March 4, 1979, extended to March 18, 1979, unnum. checklist.
Robert Beverly Hale. 100 American Painters of the 20th Century: Works Selected from the Collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1950, ill. p. 77.
Elaine de Kooning. "Andrew Wyeth Paints a Picture." Art News 49 (March 1950), pp. 38–39, ill.
Doris Brian. "The Metropolitan's American Policy—A Long View, No Blind Flying." Art Digest 24 (July 1, 1950), p. 9.
"Art: American Realist." Time 58 (July 16, 1951), p. 75, ill.
Robert Beverly Hale. "The American Moderns." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 16 (Summer 1957), p. 22, ill.
Henry Geldzahler. American Painting in the Twentieth Century. New York, 1965, pp. 175–76, ill.
A. L. Chanin. Art Guide/ New York. New York, 1965, p. 102, fig. 155.
Thomas N. Maytham. Great American Paintings from the Boston and Metropolitan Museums. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. Seattle, 1970, p. 138, no. 90, ill. p. 139.
Lillian Freedgood. An Enduring Image: American Painting from 1665. New York, 1970, ill. p. 355.
Thomas P. F. Hoving. "Faces and Places—Paintings from the Met." Art in America 58 (March–April 1970), ill. p. 65, dates it about 1925.
Michael Kimmelman. "Andrew Wyeth, Realist and Lightning Rod, Dies." New York Times (January 17, 2009), p. A18.
Andrew Wyeth (American, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania 1917–2009 Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania)
1950
Resources for Research
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Met's engagement with art from 1890 to today includes the acquisition and exhibition of works in a range of media, spanning movements in modernism to contemporary practices from across the globe.
