The Wyeth Interview Project

Andrew Wyeth remains one of the most celebrated American painters of the twentieth century, yet the individuals who modeled for him and who knew him in Chadds Ford and along the Maine coast have rarely had the chance to share their own accounts.

The Wyeth Interview Project aims to change that — conducting oral history interviews with those models, friends, and associates to capture their firsthand knowledge and experiences.

We've identified numerous potential interview subjects across Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maine. Their recollections promise to enrich our understanding of Wyeth's creative process, challenge the narrative of the "solitary genius," and — importantly — restore the voices of the female models whose presence shaped so much of his most iconic work but whose own stories have gone largely untold.

The project follows ethical oral-history best practices, including informed consent and subject review of transcripts, and anticipates roughly three years from launch to reaching both scholarly and general audiences through an archived collection and public-facing publication.

We're actively seeking an institutional partner — a museum, university library, or historical society with existing Wyeth holdings — to help preserve this archive for future generations. If that's you, or someone you know, we'd love to talk.

If you — or a parent, grandparent, neighbor, or old family friend — modeled for Andrew Wyeth, worked alongside him, or simply knew him as a familiar face around Chadds Ford or the Maine coast, we want to hear from you. We'd love the chance to capture those firsthand memories and add them to the historical record.

If this describes you or someone close to you, please reach out — we'd be glad to answer questions about the process and what participating involves. Reach out to us at info@paintersfollypreservationalliance.com to discuss.