BEYOND THE MARRIAGE BED My Years as Friend, Model and Confidante of Andrew Wyeth
by Helen Sipala
hardback / $29.95 / isbn: 978-1-58790-559-9 / 208 pages / 8.5" x 11"
Memoir / Andrew Wyeth the painter
ABOUT THE BOOK & AUTHOR
For two decades famed artist Andrew Wyeth forged a special relationship with neighbors Helen and George Sipala. The couple was a special part of Andrew’s world and their home, Painter’s Folly, became a home-away-from-home refuge for Andrew and also a studio.
Andrew included the couple in many of his special events, from art openings in New York City to a movie preview with Charlton Heston. Helen and George hosted Christmas parties for Andrew and Andrew invited the couple to spend time with him in Maine during summers.
Besides being a friend, hostess and model for Andrew, Helen was a confident of the painter. Helen and Andrew spent many hours discussing painting, family, religion and other sensitive subjects.
Andrew suggested that Helen keep a diary of their meetings and talks. He hoped Helen “was writing all this down.” If Helen was to share their relationship, Andrew wanted her to not make his stories “sweet” but to “put an edge to it.”
Beyond the MARRIAGE Bed is the sweet and not too sweet chronicle of the relationship among Andrew Wyeth and Helen and George Sipala.
ABOUT THE EDITORS
Bruce E. Mowday is an award-winning author and newspaper reporter. He has authored more than books on history, sports, business and true crime. For more information on Mowday, his books and his schedule of events, see www.mowday.com.
Over the years Mowday read a number of books on Andrew Wyeth, N. C. Wyeth, Jamie Wyeth and the rest of the Wyeth clan. He spent many hours at the Brandywine River Museum of Art looking at the wonderful collection of Wyeth art in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The Wyeth paintings became like old and treasured friends. Mowday authored the book Stealing Wyeth, about the theft of 15 paintings from the Andrew and Betsy Wyeth estate. He covered the case as a newspaper reporter.