Society News

Magic Realism in New England:
The mesmerizing work of

Andrew Wyeth

(© Stella Grace Lyons, stellagracelyons.co.uk)

‘If there is such a thing as a purely American tradition in Art, it is represented at its best in the straightforward canvases of Andrew Wyeth.’ — LIFE magazine, 1948.

Andrew Wyeth is one of America’s best-known Realist painters of the 20th century. In a career spanning 75 years, he created paintings of everyday life in Pennsylvania and Maine that were imbued with mystery and emotion. He painted with an exacting detail that led to his style being termed ‘magic realism’. This talk looks at his poignant landscapes, his scandalous ‘Helga’ series and his moving portraits, including a focused look at his most iconic work, ‘Christina’s World’.

Lecturer: Stella Grace Lyons

(© Stella Grace Lyons, stellagracelyons.co.uk)

‘Without sacrificing scholarship, Stella Lyons has a most engaging way of hooking an audience into sharing her passionate interest in art history, drawing three dimensional human stories and experiences from the two-dimensional canvas’ – Maev Kennedy, writer and Arts correspondent for The Guardian

Stella Grace Lyons is a freelance Art History lecturer, speaker and writer accredited with The Arts Society. She has lectured across the UK, Ireland, Spain, Norway, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Malaysia and will soon embark on a lecturing tour in Australasia.

Stella gained her BA in the History of Art with a 1st class in her dissertation from the University of Bristol (2007-2011), and her MA in History of Art from the University of Warwick. She spent a year studying Renaissance art in Italy at the British Institute of Florence, and three months studying Venetian art in Venice. In addition, she attended drawing classes at the prestigious Charles H. Cecil studios in Florence, a private atelier that follows a curriculum based on the leading ateliers of nineteenth century Paris.

Stella runs her own Art History lectures both in person and online. She is a regular lecturer in the UK and Europe for The Arts Society, Tour companies, and the National Trust, amongst others. Stella is also a part-time lecturer for the University of South Wales.

She has written about art for several publications and her article on Norwegian art was recently featured on the front cover of The Arts Society magazine.

In addition to her lecturing work, Stella works as an artist’s model for the internationally renowned figurative artist, Harry Holland.