Paull Anderson (Massachusetts/South Carolina, c. 1938-2022) oil on canvas painting depicting a boy seated in a hayloft and gazing up at a cloudy sky, 1979. Below him at right a river winds its way through a landscape and toward a distant body of water. Signed and dated "Paull 79," upper left. Housed in a modern wood frame with white line. Canvas: 24" H x 30" W. Frame: 29" H x 34 7/8" W. Note: Andrew Wyeth-student John Paull Anderson was born in Massachusetts and drafted into the Navy''s submarine service. He completed four war patrols in Vietnam. He was personally honored by President Jimmy Carter as a Vietnam-era veteran for his "distinguished service to his nation in time of war and peace." He made the first three Cold War patrols aboard the world''s first ballistic missile submarine, U.S.S. George Washington, and later remained active in Submarine Veterans'' Organizations. In 1965, despite evidence suggesting his innocence, Anderson was convicted of the murder of his first wife and imprisoned the following year in South Carolina. Anderson fought the conviction until, ten years later, the state and federal courts overturned it. While in prison Anderson created drawings of prison life and his fellow inmates and, in 1966, began a correspondence with Andrew Wyeth. Wyeth encouraged and guided Anderson''s artistic development and provided both technical criticism as well as pencils, paints, books, and other artistic tools. Together, Wyeth and Anderson worked to support imprisoned artists. Wyeth lent a group of his paintings for a national exhibition of prisoners'' art and, additionally, judged entries and assisted in making awards. During Anderson''s confinement, the two artists, along with Richard Gardner, a Navy friend of Anderson''s, launched the Cloistered Artist''s Guild of the United States. Originally a guild for imprisoned artists, by 1973 the group included approximately 2000 members including prisoners, mental hospital patients, residents of health care facilities, and even nuns and monks in 43 U.S. states, Canada, and Mexico. After his release in 1975, Anderson hitchhiked to Chadds Fords, Pennsylvania to meet Wyeth in person for the first time. Anderson would make regular visits to see Andrew and his wife, Betsy, and the three, along with Anderson''s second wife, June, became good friends and Wyeth continued to guide Anderson''s artistic development. A brochure for a 1975 exhibition of Anderson''s work at the Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC, features a version of Wyeth''s portrait with the addition of a chain tethering Anderson to a palm tree, a South Carolina state symbol. As a Massachusettsan, Anderson was interested in John F. Kennedy and the Kennedy family. He received a commission from Jaqueline Kennedy to produce a portrait of President Kennedy. According to his 2022 obituary, he also received commissions from South Carolina politician Soloman Blatt, Sr., Georgia politician George L. Smith, and King Khalid of Saudi Arabia. South Carolina Governor John C. West appointed him Carolina Scribe and to The Order of the Palmetto. In addition to drawing and painting, Anderson was a sculptor and author. In 2021 he published the autobiographical book "Sweet June and Paull: Their Love Story," which records stories from his life and that of his wife. Sources: "Jury to Get Anderson Murder Case Today," The Bee, (Danville, VA), December 20, 1965; "Paull Anderson: Art From Prison," in American Artist, February 1979, pp. 56-59, 104; John Paull Anderson obituary, Weaver Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Bristol, TN, July 30, 2022.

CONDITION: Overall very good condition. With two points of indentation without loss to sky above landscape, lower right.