Andrew Wyeth- Artist or Illustrator?/ Realist painters as artists.

Andrew Wyeth is one 'Artist' who has always been a bother to me. My respect for his technicality is immense and I have been studying his paintings, especially his Winter scenes as a fantastic example of reserving open areas in a painting to convey a profound sense of depth and dimensionality.

Recognizing this great eye and craftsmanship, I still can't place him in the realm of true art and not illustration as his paintings tend to have a photographic artificiality to them, unlike another Realist, Edward Hopper, in which I can see originality and fluidity to his work that pushes him into the 'Artist' category for me.

The debate over Andrew Wyeth's place and reputation have been raging for years now, would be interesting to hear someone else's opinion of him.



An interesting link:

http://www.artistdaily.com/blogs/learn-from-the-masters/andrew-wyeth-picks-20-great-american-watercolorists