Wyeth

Wyeth is a surname of English origin and may refer to several notable individuals and entities in art and industry.

In the arts, the Wyeth family is renowned for its contributions to American painting and illustration. N. C. Wyeth (Newell Convers Wyeth, 1882–1945) was an American illustrator who studied with Howard Pyle at the Brandywine School and produced numerous book illustrations that helped define early 20th-century American illustration. He was the father of Andrew Wyeth. Andrew Wyeth (1917–2009) was a leading realist painter whose spare, detailed works, including Christina’s World (1948), are among the most recognized in 20th-century American art. Jamie Wyeth (born 1946) is a contemporary realist painter, the son of Andrew Wyeth, whose work encompasses portraits and rural landscapes and continues the family’s artistic legacy.

Outside of the arts, Wyeth has been used as the name of a major American pharmaceutical company. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, founded in 1860, developed medicines and vaccines and grew into a global enterprise. In 2009, Wyeth agreed to be acquired by Pfizer in a deal valued at about $68 billion, and the Wyeth brand was subsequently integrated into Pfizer, with the standalone Wyeth company eventually retired.

In summary, Wyeth denotes a historic American artistic lineage as well as a long-standing pharmaceutical company, with the name appearing in both cultural and corporate contexts.