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The helga pictures5/11/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() The critical world has never been kind to artists who dare to make money while they’re still alive - clearly commercial success must somehow negate the legitimacy of the art.Īt the heart of all this hand-wringing are some very simple, itchily familiar questions. This skepticism carries a strong whiff of jealousy. They cried from the rooftops of major publications that they had not been taken in by the drama, and pointed out that they had not been the ones who wrote up the story in those first summer weeks of flushed excitement over the Helga pictures. Surely that meant that the whole thing had been a publicity stunt? Establishment art critics, who have always had a testy relationship with Andrew Wyeth’s work, rushed to declare their skepticism about the Wyeths’ story of the Helga paintings. ![]() Andrews, who bought the complete Helga series and its reproduction rights, enjoyed hefty financial gains fueled, undeniably, by the public fascination with being let in on what looked like a very private relationship. Conspiracy theories flourished - journalists pointed out that both the Wyeths and the wealthy businessman, Leonard E.B. In the aftermath of this media maelstrom, the art world and the American public collectively tied itself into knots for years, trying to come to rest with some conclusion about the Helga paintings. ![]()
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