‘Andrew Wyeth’s World’ – Next OLLI Program

Andy Duback
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Katie Wood Kirchhoff will present the OLLI-Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program on Tuesday, March 26. ‘Andrew Wyeth’s World’ will be presented at 2 p.m. at the Nolin Murray Center next to St. Mary’s Catholic Church on Pleasant St. in Springfield, Vermont.

Join Ms. Kirchhoff for an exploration of 12 paintings by Andrew Wyeth chosen for the United States Postal Service’s 2017 Forever Stamp series. Selected to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the painter’s birth, these iconic scenes from Pennsylvania and Maine include favorites like Wind from the Sea (1947), Christina’s World (1948) and Shelburne Museum’s Soaring (1942-50).

Wyeth (1917-2009) was a visual realist artist, working predominantly in a regionalist style. In his art, Wyeth’s favorite subjects were the land and people around him, both in his hometown of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and at his summer home in Cushing, Maine. He often noted: “I paint my life.” He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century.

Kirchhoff, associate curator at the Shelburne Museum, was trained as a specialist in American art history, decorative arts, and material culture. She holds a B.A. from Smith College, an M.A. from the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture and a Ph.D. from the University of Delaware. She has worked for a range of museums and cultural organizations including the American Philosophical Society, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Winterthur Museum and Country Estate. At the Shelburne Museum she researches and organizes exhibitions focusing on the museum’s historic collections of fine, folk, and decorative arts.

OLLI-Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, affiliated with the University of Vermont, is a local membership program geared towards seniors 50 years and older who want to engage in meaningful learning, “just for the fun of it!” People of all ages who are interested in this type of program are welcome to attend.

The OLLI series programs are selected with input from the local members and carry varied themes from semester to semester including history, art, music, literature, health, nature, science, travel and current events.

Programs are held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday afternoons and last about an hour and a half.

Membership is $45 for the semester, which includes nine programs. Non-members are encouraged and welcome to attend individual lectures for a single program fee of $8. Memberships, as well as single program fees, may be paid at the program.

The following OLLI program will be two weeks later on April 9, and will be ‘Etiquette in the 21st Century’ with Daniel Post Senning, great,great grandson of Emily Post.

Brochures have been distributed throughout the area towns at businesses, the local libraries, town halls and Chamber of Commerce offices. The complete Springfield and state-wide program list is available on the internet at www.learn.uvm.edu/olli Choose State-wide programs from the menu, and then click on Springfield.

For weather-related changes to the schedule you may check the above mentioned website or SAPA TV, 802-885-6248 or call 802-885-3094.